


Dwarves, Dragons and Darkness

by FoundersDaughter



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:37:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6301330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoundersDaughter/pseuds/FoundersDaughter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would have happened on the quest if Thorin had had another sibling? Would it have changed the outcome if they demanded to join? What if that sibling, a sister, had the ability to control magic beyond even what the Elves remembered? This story is mainly rated M for language and possible fight scenes later. There is a slight HP aspect to it, this will not happen until later and will only be small mentions. This is NOT a female HP story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am not JRR Tolkien. Anything you recognise is obviously not mine.
> 
> A/N: None of my work is Beta'd so I apologise for any mistakes in advance. This was previously posted on FF.net so I have tried to edit it based on what people have told me there.

Unusually for the time of day, Thrór had no engagements, no meetings and for once, no blasted pieces of parchment to sign. He felt slightly foolish as he crept out the side door of his council chambers and wandered down the corridor like a naughty child hiding from his tutor. He wandered along through the maze of corridors, acutely aware of the guards and his son haunting his every step. "Thrain, come out here boy. I didn't teach you to be sneaky so you could follow me around. " He called over his shoulder and heard a few of the guards chuckle. 

He listened as Thrain dismissed the other guards and walked towards him. "Adad I am not a boy." He muttered sulkily as he walked alongside his father. Thrór chuckled and they walked down through the levels until the reached the battlements, "What troubles you my son? You are not usually so silent." Thrór asked and Thrain nodded, "I feel strangely disconnected to my children. Ever since their mother died, I can't reach them. Thorin spends all his time training or down in the forge, likewise it’s a struggle to get Dis away from the forge or her books and Frerin is the only one I can reach as he helps with the treaties and laws, but even he spends more and more time training."

Thrór sighed and led Thrain up into the outdoor rock garden that his wife and daughter had made together, until his little girl had moved away and married that Ironfoot swine. He shook his head and leant on the wall looking down across the foot of the mountain to Dale. "Each deal with grief in their own way. If we are being honest my son, this is the first time I have seen you and spoken to you outside of the council chambers since she died. We are Dwarrow, we grieve loudly and publicly when it is expected, but most of our grief is internalised. Dis and the boys are dealing with it in their way, but they also don't know how to approach you about it. Try and remember how you felt when your mother died, do you remember how long it took for you to approach me to talk?" He asked and Thrain nodded.

They stood silently next to each other, watching the different coloured kites flutter over the town. "What can I do to draw us back together? We need to be seen as strong and together as a family. The Ironfoot clan are watching us constantly, waiting for us to slip so they can take the throne and the Arkenstone." Thrain said after a while and Thrór growled at the thought of someone taking away his Jewel. Thrain nodded, "I know I will die before one of them rules our mountain. Mahal why is it so difficult to reach out to my children." He groaned resting his head on his arms as he stared out over to Dale, not really seeing anything. 

Thrór leant back looking up at the clouds that were swirling above the mountain, "You just need something that will bring them all together. That's what I tried to do with you, do you remember? I tried to get you work with me in the forge, the council chamber or the mines." Thrain nodded, "But they already do that. I honestly don't know what to do. There is nothing I can think of." 

Thrór lowered his head and looked down to find a small bundle of cloth surrounded by ravens, pecking at it every now and again. He inhaled sharply when he saw a small foot uncovered by one of the birds pecks. "Son, look!" He exclaimed, pointing down. Both dwarves ran down through the corridors and out the gates, walking around to the spot underneath the garden. Thrór shooed the birds away with a shout and knelt by the figure, slowly peeling back the cloth. 

They both inhaled when the form of a small female child was uncovered, her face was covered in bruises and her hair and clothing was matted with dried blood. "Adad we cannot leave her out here." Thrain whispered to Thrór and he nodded, bending to gently pick the child up, freezing when she gasped in pain. He looked down to find the deepest pair of emerald green eyes shining back at him, the gold sickness he had been feeling falling away now that he had hold of the child that held that emerald gaze. 

She whimpered in fear, "No please. No." She was shaking in his arms and both dwarves felt their hearts clench, no child should be this afraid. Thrór gently settled her higher in his arms and marched back into the mountain and up to the royal quarters. "Send for a healer." Thrain commanded one of the guards they met on route, raising an eyebrow at the direction his father was taking. 

He opened the door to one of the spare chambers, noticing out of the corner of his eye that all three of his children's doors had opened at the commotion. Thrór pushed past him and lay the tiny girl on the bed, carefully removing all of the cloth from her body. "Aulë, adad what happened to her?" Dis' voice came from behind Thrain and he turned to find his children stood in the doorway. "I do not know, we found her outside underneath the battlements." He said, gesturing for the healer to enter. 

Thrór stood by the child's head, gently stroking the hair away from her face, frowning when he felt a cut underneath her matted hair. "She has a head wound and possibly other injuries to her chest." He told the healer quietly, moving to the bath chamber to collect a jug of warm water to bath her wounds. The healer nodded his thanks and then began to gently examine the wounds on the child's head, washing the wounds with a cloth as he uncovered them. Thrain listened as his children all walked over to the bed, "She is not a dwarf." Thorin said quietly and Thrain shook his head, "No, I believe she is the child of men." Thorin nodded and studied the child, "I will never understand how anyone can beat a child." Frerin said from his position next to Thorin. 

Thrór scoffed, "Only an animal would beat a child this small." The healer hummed in agreement, moving from the child's hair across her face, placing healing salves over the wounds as he cleaned them. He then pulled up the child's shirt and revealed a large mass of bruising across the child's abdomen. "Aulë. You can still see the boot prints. What kind of monster does this to a child?" Dis exclaimed, promptly turning and shooing the four dwarves out, "I want to give her some privacy as we check the rest of her. You can come back in, in a moment." She decreed, slamming the door in their faces. "Well she's certainly a Durin." Thrór remarked dryly, causing the others to chuckle. He began to pace, wondering what was happening to the child with the emerald eyes. 

Inside the room, Dis was helping the healer gently remove the girls torn and bloodied clothing. With each piece they were uncovering more bruises and the occasional cut, some of which were quite deep. Dis was cleaning the girls left thigh when she found a series of small scars laid out in a pattern. "Healer? What could have caused these?" The healer looked over and studied them for a moment. "I would say some kind of animal, they look like a bite." Dis stared down at the scars. "What kind of man lets a child be bitten by an animal?" The healer shook his head, for even he didn't know. "All I can say is that men take for granted the children they can have." Dis nodded, as dwarf women were so limited any child was a blessing from Aulë. 

They finally finished tending to all the child's wounds and Dis dressed her in a shirt she found in the wardrobe to the side. It was a little big, but would do for the girl to sleep in without antagonising her wounds. The healer moved to the door and opened it, addressing the royal family. "I have healed all I can, she must be allowed to rest and when she wakes, do not push her. Let her tell you anything you need to know, just let her come to you, because she will need you all." He said, bowing and leaving down the corridor. 

The four dwarves made their way back inside the chamber and Thrór sat down beside her bed, stroking her hair back from her face. "I wonder what her name is?" He murmured absently and the whole room was silent as a small voice whispered out, "Ariana" sleepily before she turned and fell back to sleep. They stared at each other then back down at the girl. "We will protect her, she will never feel this pain again so long as I live." Thrór decreed and his son and grandchildren nodded, they would all protect this little girl like she was family.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I am not JRR Tolkien. Anything you recognise is obviously not mine.
> 
> Just a little insight into Thorin.

**Thorin's POV**

I stretched and stood from my seat, finally finished reading over all the documents father had given me that morning. Many of them pertained to adopting Ariana, the little child who had come into our lives. She was still a long way from being fully healed, but the wounds that she had sustained before she arrived at the foot of the mountain were now only memories. I shuddered at the memory of those injuries, how anyone could hurt one so small and gentle was beyond me. 

I quickly left my room and made my way down towards the training grounds, knowing I would find the newest member of the Durin line there. I nodded as my friend and cousin moved up beside me, "Balin. How are you?" I asked and Balin smiled, "Better now that those papers were finally passed. Your father and grandfather were very difficult to deal with in the council chambers as of late." I chuckled, knowing what he meant, as we walked out onto the training grounds to the sound of giggling.

I looked across the training field to find my new sister, sat on the fence watching Dwalin train the newest recruits for the guard. Balin shook his head, "Of all the people in the mountain, she picked my brother." I chuckled, it was hard to imagine why the small, easily scared little girl had picked our fiercest guard, who bellowed often and looked like he was always one step away from starting a fight, but there was no one I would trust more to protect her. 

I watched as one of the recruits made a rude gesture in Ingleshmek to another, while gesturing towards Ariana. I growled and went to react, my vision turning red, but needn't have bothered, Dwalin had seen it. "You boy!" He snarled out at the recruit and stalked towards him, the boy paled and nodded his head, "Pick a weapon, let's see what you have learnt." Dwalin growled out, picking up his axe that was resting on the fence near Ariana. 

It turned out that the new recruit hadn't really learnt anything in his time with Dwalin, as he was soon on his back with Dwalin's axe pressed to his throat. "Get up you pathetic little troll. Pair off all of you, run the drills again and if I see one more person focused on the princess and not his drill, he will be washing every guard uniform in the mountain. Now get to it!" Dwalin roared out and I glanced over at Ariana, but she seemed to have no fear of Dwalin's roar. 

Dwalin walked backwards until he stood next to her and she smiled over at him, nodding her head, almost as if to say thank you. I heard Dwalin scoff as Balin and I approached the pair. "Don't be thanking me, little miss. They had no right to say what they did about you." I held in a chuckle as Ariana rolled her eyes, "I know you didn't understand what he said, but I won't allow it." Dwalin replied and I pressed a finger to my lips as I silently moved behind Dwalin, catching Ariana's eye. "Not at least because I would skin you if you didn't defend her." I said quietly into Dwalin's ear.

Dwalin jumped at the sound of my voice, his hand going to his axe, but he left it were it was as the training grounds rang with the sound of Ariana's laughter. I smiled, Balin's chuckles joining hers as Dwalin turned to her, a hand over his heart. "You knew he was there and didn't tell me? Little miss how could you?" He said, pouting and she giggled, reaching over to pat his mohawk, in apology. Dwalin nodded, "Alright you're forgiven." She gave him a smile, which he returned quickly, before turning back to the recruits who were now standing still. "Who said you could stop? Keep going." He bellowed out and Balin shook his head. "It's like he only has two volumes." He muttered and Ariana giggled, before waving at me. 

I nodded my head, moving to stand next to her. She smiled and leaned against my shoulder, gesturing with her hands over at the recruits. I shook my head. "No I will not tell you what he said. Just know that it was rude." She sighed and I turned to look at Balin, "I think I will speak to Father about teaching her both Ingleshmek and Khuzdul." I said in Khuzdul and Balin looked shocked before nodding. 

I knew why, as I was very stubborn in the belief that our language was ours and no outsider should know it, but Ariana had wormed her way into most of the mountains hearts, with her eyes brighter than any emerald we could mine and her smile that lit the halls. I shook my head as I realised I was sounding like one of those poems Dis liked to read. I stood beside Ariana and Balin as Dwalin finally roared at the recruits to get out of his sight. I shook my head, "They are going to be no good to us if you scare them like that." 

Dwalin just laughed and after securing his axe's away from him, swung Ariana up into his arms. She giggled and held onto his braids, looking so much smaller than the six years she had told us she was. Although she had not spoken since the day she had arrived here, her expressions and gestures were easy enough to understand most of the time. Surprisingly Grandfather and Dwalin were the best at reading her, but the rest of us weren't so bad.

"Why are you carrying her brother?" Balin asked and Dwalin scrunched his face up. "I bet that she couldn't beat me across the training grounds and she did. So this was what she wanted, I think it bothers her to be so small when we're so big." He said looking down at her and she rocked her head from side to side, like it was true but it wasn't. "It scares you as well doesn't it, because you can't see who is near you." I said softly and she nodded, curling her hand deeper into Dwalin's hair. 

We moved as a group up towards the throne room, the council meetings were over for the day and grandfather liked to see Ariana as often as he could, something that she didn't seem to mind. "I wouldn't worry too much Thorin, you namanith bites. Hard." Dwalin said showing me his hand, where there was a nice round set of teeth marks embedded in the flesh. Ariana ducked her head and hid it in his shoulder. "Now why did my namanith bite you?" I asked as we walked, Dwalin chuckled. "Well after she beat me, I think I moved too suddenly as I went to tickle her for beating me and she bit me. It was my own fault, but she has some reflexes this one." He said tickling her sides, before yelping slightly as we entered the throne room. "What on earth are you making that noise for Dwalin?" Adad asked his, as Balin and I laughed, bowing before my grandfather. 

I smiled and helped Ariana down from Dwalin's arms, she gnashed her teeth at him and Grandfather began to laugh loudly. "You bit him? Givashel that isn't nice." He said gesturing for her to come to him, Ariana darted up the steps and let grandfather hoist her up to sit on the arm of his throne. "Namanith, tell him why you bit Dwalin both times." I urged her and she blushed, looking over at Dwalin, her eyes wide. 

Dwalin shook his head, "Don't apologise, I'm not hurt and I deserved it." She seemed appeased at that and turned to grandfather, wiggling her fingers and then pointing to her sides. "Your ticklish?" Grandfather asked and she nodded, turning at the sound of Frerin's chuckles. "Oh, namanith you shouldn't have told me that." He said as he approached her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She tilted her head and looked at Frerin and then me, before looking back at grandfather. "Namanith means little sister, Givashel means treasure of all treasures. They are in Khuzdul, the language of our people, if you would like I'll have Balin or Thorin teach you?" 

Ariana stared at grandfather before smiling widely, turning at the sound of Dis' laughter, "Oh namanith, you have them all wrapped around your little finger don't you. Look their all about to melt just from your smile." Dis teased as she walked up to the throne and in a show of male pride we all straightened up and scowled. Dis snorted and rolled her eyes, but it was true, we all lost our bluster as Ariana's giggle sounded through the cavern. 

"Is it just tickling that causes you to bite namanith or do you just bite in general?" Dis asked and Ariana looked at her, rolling her eyes. She gestured to us, then shook her head, but nodded when wiggling her fingers at her side. "So with us its just if we tickle you?" I guessed and she nodded, shooting me a grin. She then waved her hand towards the door and then gnashed her teeth while touching a finger to her arm. "But with anyone else its if they touch you?" Frerin said and she nodded. 

We all chuckled, "Well it's not really a surprise. Thrain used to bite a lot as a child." Grandfather said mischievously and we all laughed at the look on adad's face. "Father. I did not, not half as much as Thorin did as a youngling." I stared at adad as everyone laughed, "I never bit anyone." I grumbled as Dwalin roared with laughter. "Its ok Thorin, Dwalin still bites people. He never really grew out of the habit." Balin said dryly and Ariana giggled, making Dwalin's scowl lessen. 

Frerin grabbed Ariana suddenly and swung her over his shoulder, "Come on then namanith, lets get you out of here before someone bites someone else. Shall we go and see how the mines are doing today?" He asked and Ariana pulled his braids, before nodding. As Frerin walked out of the room, she waved from her position on his shoulder and we all waved back. As we all dispersed from the throne room, many of us forgot about the biting conversation over the next few days.

Balin and I decided that we would both teach Ariana Khuzdul and Ingleshmek. For one who didn't speak and who had not been born in our culture, she picked it up incredibly quickly, rarely making a mistake and always remembering exactly what we had taught her previously. When we informed grandfather he simply beamed with pride and had nodded, I had felt a little twinge of jealousy that I never gotten such a show of pride from him. I then felt ashamed, for even I had been filled with pride at Ariana's learning abilities. However, even I could see the positive influence that Ariana was having on grandfather, instead of spending his time wandering near the treasury, he was taking Ariana down to the forges and teaching her about the different techniques needed within each area of our crafts. 

He had even begun to use the forges again himself, insisting he would be the one to forge Ariana's bead to show the mountain she was of the line of Durin. Ariana still spent time down with Dwalin training, but whenever I asked what they were doing he shook his head and ignored the question. It was just as summer was fading in to autumn, at the beginning of the ninth month that Ariana seemed to change. "Namanith, what's wrong?" I asked her, watching as she signed with shaking hands that it was the day of her birth in two days. I watched as she closed in on herself when I frowned and realised she had probably never had a good experience for her birthday. I forgot that we were in a busy part of the mountain and hoisted her up into my arms, wrapping her in a hug. 

I felt tears hit my neck, just above the collar of my tunic and inhaled sharply, clearly this wasn't the reaction that she was expecting. I frowned and walked back towards our chambers and tugged open her door, moving over to the chair by the fire. I sat down with her in my lap and brushed her hair back from her face. "Why didn't you tell us namanith? Mahal little one how have others reacted to make you fear telling us?" She flinched at the anger in my tone and tried to squirm off my lap. I tightened my hold and shushed her, "I am not angry at you namanith, I am angry at every person who has ever hurt you and wish that I could take my sword to their head." I pressed a kiss to her forehead, drying her tears. She curled up against my side as I continued to stroke her hair, thinking about the short time scale we had to plan a little party for her.

I knew that we were all making gifts for her, that we were going to give her as a whole at some point to welcome her to the family and I vowed to speak to father and grandfather as soon as possible. I looked down to find Ariana fast asleep against my chest and I stood carefully, moving over to the bed and laying her down upon it. Despite trying to remove her boots without waking her, I failed and she stirred. I stroked her head back, murmuring, "Shh go back to sleep namanith. I am needed with father and grandfather." She nodded drowsily, before curling up under the furs on the bed. I smiled slightly before walking quietly out of her room and down towards the throne room. 

I paused in the doorway and saw that my father and grandfather were in between petitions. I strode down the walkway and bowed, "I have an issue to discuss with you." I told them and the both sat up at my serious tone. "Have you found out what it troubling our Ghivashel?" Grandfather asked and I nodded, "It's her birthday in two days. She was afraid to tell us, so Mahal knows what the other animals she's lived with have done to her on her previous birthday's." I spat out and father nodded.

"I'm sure we can persuade the cooks to make us a small feast of her favourite dishes that we can have up in the private dining hall. And we can keep it small so she isn’t overwhelmed." Father said and grandfather nodded, "We'll let Dwalin and Balin know and then is a good time to give her the gifts that we have been making for her." He said and I nodded, "I'm going to get back to her, I left her sleeping." I bowed, when grandfather waved me away already looking like he was planning the party out in his head. I paused on my journey back to Ariana's room to grab a book, settling in front of her fire to read until she woke up.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing, obviously.
> 
> Frerin POV

I hefted the bag further up my shoulder and walked into the Royal families private dining hall, the fire was blazing and the cooks were setting out a few different drinks around the room. In the corner was a small table, already piled high with gifts for our little sister. I smiled at the thought, Ariana had really changed a lot within the family and the mountain. She was a breath of fresh air after our mothers death and seeing her smile made the pain of that loss more bearable. 

I placed my gift down on the side of the table and moved back down the hall towards our chambers, cleaning up quickly before knocking on Ariana's door. I poked my head around the door and saw her seated on the floor before the fire reading a thick book. "Careful namanith, you'll become as stuffy as Thorin." I teased and smiled when she turned and stuck her tongue out at me. 

I chuckled and moved to sit behind her, grabbing her hair brush from the stand near the bath chamber. I began to brush out her long hair, knowing that despite her lack of beard, she was respected for the amount of hair that grew on her head, and because it was such an inky black it fit in well with our family, my hair being the exception. I set the hair brush down and we sat in silence, only the sound of Ariana turning the pages could be heard. 

I listened to the faint noises coming from the corridor, hearing when Dis and Thorin moved towards the dining hall. "Namanith, shall we go for a walk. I think we might be able to sneak a few treats from the kitchens if we're quick." I said tugging lightly at a strand of her hair, inhaling in shock when she turned to me and shot me a cheeky grin, something I had never seen from her before. I returned it and hoisted her up into my arms. 

She giggled and curled her hands into my braids, flicking my nose when I grumbled as she pulled one of them. "What just because I pulled you hair doesn't mean you get to pull mine." I declared and she rolled her eyes, nodding her head, then looking around and frowning. "I know this isn't the way to the kitchen, I lied. We have a surprise for you and I didn't think you would come if I told you that." 

Her eyes went wide and even I could read the fear that started to creep into them, I stopped and shook my head, hugging her tightly to me. "Namanith, whatever is going through your mind it needs to stop, this isn't a bad surprise. It’s a very good one, no one in the room we enter will hurt you. I swear it." She stared into my eyes as we spoke and then nodded. I continued down the corridor and then shifted Ariana slightly, so I could better open the door. "Remember, I swear it." I whispered into her ear and she nodded. 

As the door swung open we were greeted with the sight of my siblings, father, grandfather and cousins all grinning and looking over at the little girl in my arms. "Happy Birthday Princess." Adad said, walking over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She smiled shyly and then wriggled. I set her down gently and she dashed over to grandfather, who gladly picked her up. "Happy birthday little sister." Thorin murmured and pressed a kiss to her cheek, Dis repeating the sentiment and gesture. Balin dipped into a little bow and signed 'Happy Birthday', to her which made her grin. She giggled as Dwalin gently tickled her ribs as he wished her happy birthday. 

Grandfather moved over to a seat and sat, gently pulling a few strands of her hair towards him, and placing the braid to fall down past her ear. He then placed the bead he had forged on to the end, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Happy birthday Ghivashel. This bead and braid lets all in the mountain know that you are my grandchild, that you are a child of the line of Durin. That you belong." He told her showing her the intricately carved bead, made of the customary silver and sapphire of our house. Although the silver seemed to shine brighter than usual, I sucked in a breath quietly when I realised it was probably Mithril and not silver that grandfather had used. 

Adad was the next to approach Ariana with a gift, he handed her a velvet pouch and tipped out a necklace that carried a series of silver panels, each engraved with a different rune, Daughter, Sister, Durin, Princess, Survivor. There was two blank panels on either end for if she wanted to add more on. He slipped it around her neck and it hung low on her chest because of her small size, causing her to frown. "Don't worry about it sweet child, you'll grow in to it." Father said pressing a kiss to her forehead, before taking a lock of her hair and braiding it before placing a bead of his own, the rune for daughter encased in emeralds. She twisted both in her tiny finger staring at them like she couldn't believe they were there. 

Thorin approached her next and gave her a thick book filled with stories and tales from our history written in Khuzdul and then added a thin silver bracelet to her left wrist, it also had a panel connecting the delicate links with her name engraved in runes on it. Ariana slid her finger tip over it and smiled, causing my normally dower brother to smile back. Dis presented Ariana with a delicately carved wooden box, which inside held another bead that she added in a braid next to adad's, the rune for sister decorating its surface. 

I darted forward next and picked up the satchel that I had had the men of Dale make, I opened up the leather to show Ariana the little gifts inside. One was the dragon figurine she had been drawn to in the market a week ago and I had purchased when she hadn't been looking. The others were three decorative small eggs that shined in the firelight, one ruby, one sapphire and the other a bright shining white. She smiled over at me and I pressed a kiss to her nose, causing her to swat at my head.

I chuckled as she missed and watch Balin present her with a sketchpad and charcoal and a thick tome of Khuzdul and Ingleshmek stories, chuckling when she looked at him then at Thorin. "Yes these are stories, but they are ones about your family and the mischief they have gotten up to, especially your grandfather" He said chuckling at the look on grandfathers face. She turned and pressed a kiss to his cheek and he calmed, pressing one to her forehead. 

Dwalin was the last to give his present and his eyes sparkled as he passed her a leather bag, motioning for her to unroll it. We all gasped at the shining daggers that were nestled in the leather pouches, each one different to the other ranging from needle like blades to one almost the size of a hunting knife. She smiled widely at Dwalin and handed him the bag as she slid of grandfather's knee. 

She pulled out a normal sized dagger and began to twirl it deftly in her hands, flipping the blade up and around, catching it by the handle every time. "Where did you learn to handle a blade, Givashel?" Grandfather asked and she smirked, pressing a finger to her lips. "It's a secret, really?" I asked and she nodded, sliding the dagger back into its sheath in the leather. Dwalin rolled the daggers back up and the held up a bead for her to see, and she nodded turning to add it next to grandfathers. When I moved to looked she shook her head and hid it in her hands, running behind Dwalin who chuckled. I shrugged and we all moved over to the table to sit and eat the small feast that the cooks had laid out for us. 

Ariana clapped her hands, delighted, when the platters of beef and roasted potatoes were brought in, along with pies filled with pork, duck and venison. She smiled as the cooks also placed chips and a stew with dumplings in it. They bowed to her and she smiled widely at them, signing out her thanks, to the delight of everyone in the room. The room was filled with little songs and stories of other birthday parties that had been held, especially focusing on the ones from when we had been Ariana's age. She was giggling uncontrollably at Balin's story of Dwalin's eight birthday that she nearly fell from the chair she was sat in. The cooks smiled at the sound and brought in a small cake and a spiced pumpkin pie that Ariana really seemed to enjoy. 

The rest of the evening progress with stories and songs and eventually found Ariana curled up in grandfather's arms fast asleep, clutching his family braid and bead in her fist. He stayed still as we all pressed soft kisses to her forehead and cheeks before rising and taking her back to her chambers, with Thorin and I following with her gifts. Grandfather removed her shoes and the belt that was around her tunic, before settling her under the light blankets on her bed. Thorin banked her fire as I arranged her gifts on her table. "May this be the first of many happy birthday's for you my little Givashel, for you deserve them and so much more." I heard him whisper and turned as he was pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

Over the next few days, Ariana's mood was infectiously happy. She had even begun to craft her first piece of metal work down in the forge with Thorin and I. It was only a small little token that would fit on a piece of leather, but she had insisted that she carve it herself, not allowing us to look as she carved the rune into the little piece of silver. She had been delighted with the little token, making us wait until she had finished threading it onto the leather. 

She then showed it to us and Thorin and I gasped at the delicately carved rune for Grandfather etched in amongst a typical dwarfish pattern. She frowned as she looked up at us and I quickly smoothed my hand down the thick braid of her hair that Thorin had done this morning before he would allow her near the forge. "It's beautiful namanith. I'm sure he will adore it." I told her reassuring her as Thorin nodded, "You have a real talent for this little one, you are truly a dwarf at heart." He told her pressing a kiss to her forehead, causing her to beam at the praise. 

I shook my head and we moved out of the forge to allow some other smiths into use it, Ariana tucking the token away around her neck. We moved up through the mountain and she pointed towards the training fields, Thorin nodded. "Yes, yes go find Dwalin. Make sure he knows that the new guards are due for inspection in three days." She nodded and waved, darting off through the crowd and we craned our necks to watch her dart out along the fence around the training grounds. 

We both nodded at each other and then moved up towards our rooms to freshen up before going to the throne room, there was a council meeting we were supposed to attend soon. I stood beside Thorin in the throne room as we watched the council members crowd around the bottom of the steps, I caught Thorin's gaze and he tilted his head, he was bored as they nattered on about something completely irrelevant. I smirked, noticing how much easier it was for all of us to communicate without words now that Ariana was in our lives. 

The council was just dispersing as Ariana burst through the chamber door, her breath hitching and as she drew closer, I saw tears streaming down her face. The council cleared a path for her as she ran, knowing that to delay her was to risk the wrath of the King. Grandfather had stood at her entrance and was now kneeling down to pick her up, adad at his side wiping away the tears from her cheeks. 

It was then that I noticed the mark around her cheek that hadn't been there when she had left us, I nudged Thorin and nodded my head at it. He tilted his head and I knew he had seen it, but we couldn't ask where it had came from as Dwalin burst into the room, looking fit to murder someone. His face lost some of its anger as he saw Ariana with us, but he stalked forward and bowed his head. "Permission to hunt the coward who dared to harm the princess?" He asked and Thorin turned to him.

Dwalin followed his movement and raised an eyebrow. "We left Ariana with you, how did she come to be hurt?" Thorin snapped out and Dwalin growled. "She was sitting on the fence watching me put the recruits you want to inspect through their paces. While they were doing it, a little shit decided it would be funny to knock out one of the more promising recruits with the handle of his axe. I had stalked closer to him to check on the fallen recruit and hadn't noticed that Ariana had gotten down from the fence. Before I unleashed hell on the recruit, I turned to check on her. Stood beside her was a dwarf I don't recognise and he was staring at his hand, which he then backhanded her with. I bellowed, he ran and before I could check Ariana she ran too. I've got one of the other trainers dealing with the recruits, I wanted to deal with the bastard that hurt a child." He snarled out and Thorin nodded. 

Ariana was patting grandfathers arm and signing that it wasn't Dwalin's fault, she knew she should have stayed on the fence, but she had wanted to check that the recruit was alright because he had been kind to her. Grandfather nodded and gestured for Dwalin to rise. No more was able to be said as the doors opened again and a contingent of dwarves from the Ironhills walked in, our uncle and Daín his son, walked in front of them. Behind Daín, one of the soldiers eyes widened as he took in Ariana curled up in grandfather's lap and I heard Dwalin growl, his hand straying to his axe. "Greetings Thrór, King under the Mountain." Uncle declared as he approached the throne, bowing deeply and then looking at Grandfather when he didn't return the greeting. 

Grandfather was staring down at the soldier, who looked to be trying to make himself as small as possible. "Have your company been with you since you arrival?" Adad asked, standing next to Grandfathers throne, a hand on his sword and another on Grandfather's arm. Ariana squirmed and grandfather released her, letting her climb down and dart over to Dwalin who placed her between him and Thorin, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "No, one was sent to the training grounds to see if the princes were there. Why?" We all glanced down at Ariana and she gnashed her teeth at the dwarf, "That is impolite, maybe you should control you spawn." Uncle drawled out aiming it a Dwalin, clearly thinking Ariana was his. "My granddaughter probably has plenty of reasons for showing your guard her teeth, least of all that lovely bruise that is forming on her cheek." Grandfather barked out and both uncle and Daín paled. 

Uncle and Daín turned to the soldier; just stared at him, both of them missing the fact that Ariana was signing rapidly to us. They came to check on Grandfather, they think he's going mad. Their advisors were talking about it as I ran here. She scowled down at them, gnashing her teeth and I moved over picking her up. The dwarf's eyes followed the gesture and she let out a snarl, glaring daggers at him. He frowned, "I had no idea who she was when I met her, I just knew she wasn't a dwarf and when I touched her, she bit me. The reaction was instinctive, forgive me." He said simpering and bowing lowly. Dwalin growled, "Is that why you were staring at your hand for so long before reacting?" He stared at Dwalin like he was something vile and Ariana frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. _He's an asshole._ She wrote the runes on my neck and I looked down at her, although she ignored me, wondering where she had learned that language. 

"So despite the fact that she was a child, you felt it necessary to hit her. Considering that you are nearly twice her size and many times stronger than she is?" Dis' voice sounded down the walkway as she approached the throne from behind the company. Every dwarf stared at her as she drew her hunting knife and grabbed the guard by the beard. He stumbled along behind her and I smirked, Dis could be completely ruthless when she wanted to be. 

The dwarf fell to the floor as Dis flicked her knife around, cutting off several of his beard braids. Ariana wiggled and I let her down, she gripped Dwalin's belt and he looked down at her nodding. She smiled and moved past him, her braid swinging behind her. She stopped in front of the dwarf and watched him, looking at his braids on the floor. 

He looked up at Ariana and a sneer formed on his face, everyone of us reaching for a weapon as he did. Apparently that was pointless, Ariana twisted out of the way of the blade of his sword, swinging the blade of a familiar dagger into his wrist. He grunted and she hammered her elbow into his temple, causing him to tilt forward and turn sideways on to us. 

Ariana was immediately behind him and had the blade of Dwalin's dagger pressed to his throat, her face set in a sneer. I blinked and looked at Thorin, who showed exactly the same amount of astonished pride on his face as I am sure was on mine. It seemed our little sister wasn't as helpless as we thought, although Dwalin seemed to look smug as well as proud.

Grandfather stood and we all watched as he walked down to where Ariana and the guard were, placing a hand on his sword. "I think you have something to say to my Givashel?" He said, not really paying attention to the reaction the dwarves gave as all his attention was on the guard. I glanced at Thorin and he nodded, soon everyone would know exactly what my Grandfather treasured most in this life and it wasn't just the Arkenstone. Soon it would be around to every dwarf community that King Thrór had an easily captured weakness. 

Well they would think it was an easy capture, but after Ariana's little show with the dagger I doubt it would be. The guard was clutching his wrist and was not saying anything. Ariana rolled her eyes and moved around to stand next to Dis, signing It's ok Grandfather. I don't expect such filth to know what an apology is. Her Ingleshmek perfect and her face serious, I leant over to Thorin and whispered in his ear, "She takes after you with that scowl." He turned and glared at me. 

The dwarf stood and tried to reach for her, not getting far as Grandfather's sword sliced his arm off. "Do not touch my Grandchildren, any of them, but certainly not my granddaughters." Thorin and I moved down to stand behind Dis and Ariana, each resting a hand on Ariana's shoulders. Grandfather waved a hand and three of our guards walked forward. "Take him down to the cells. Keep him there until I decide what I will do with him." The guards bowed and wrenched the dwarf to his feet, one picking up the severed arm. They walked away and grandfather turned to look at the company before him, "Well then what can I do for the Lord of the Ironhills?" He asked turning back to his throne and sitting down. 

Uncle looked at grandfather for a minute before blinking and speaking. "We came to pay our respects to the new princess. I will admit when I got your latest raven this was the furthest thing from what I expected to read." Uncle said, Daín shifting behind him and smiling over at Ariana. She tilted her head, studying him. I tuned out what grandfather and uncle were saying as he walked forward, feeling Ariana tense slightly. Daín bowed and the reached out to touch the bead the had come loose from her braid, he then yelped before he could touch it and waving his finger around. I let slip a chuckle, "Sorry iraknadad, she bites everyone, takes after me. Your guard wasn't particularly special, I would recommend not going near her face if I were you, although you've just learnt that." 

Daín stared at her and I for a while, before his moustache twitched. Uncle turned and looked like he was going to say something, but it was drowned out as Daín began to laugh loudly. "Oh I like her. Welcome to the family, although I am pretty sure that you already deeply set in it by now." He chuckled, giving her a wink and laughing when she rolled her eyes. "Look Thorin, it's a mini-you." He chuckled, clearly amused by this. Thorin shook his head, but ran a hand down Ariana's loosening braid and smiled when she turned and looked up at him. Dwalin took his dagger back and wiped it on the inside of his tunic. "Care to explain, Dwalin, how my daughter knows how to use a dagger?" Adad asked and Dwalin just shrugged, "I didn't actually have anything to do with that. She was already pretty good at it." 

We all turned to Ariana who was signing something quickly to Balin, so quickly that I couldn't catch most of it. She turned to look at us and blinked her eyes, an innocent look on her face. "Mhm namanith? You want to explain?" Dis asked and she shook her head, signing, I don't know what you're talking about. I chuckled along with Daín, "Well, if you believe that your dumber than a goblin." He said and we all nodded as Ariana smirked up at us, completely unaffected by the fact that we knew she was lying. I turned to look at grandfather out of the corner of my eye, catching the shadows lingering in his eyes lift when he looked down at Ariana.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing you can recognise.
> 
> _"Italics"_ \- Khuzdul  
>  _Italics_ \- Thinking
> 
>  
> 
> Thrain POV

I sighed wearily as I walked into my chambers, glad that my brother-in-law, nephew and their men had finally left. Daín was a loud bastard, his father a dour, kiss ass and I was tired at forever having to watch out for an attempt on my children, my father or myself. I knew it was unlikely that a coup would come from the Ironhills, but it would not surprise me. Not when I was sure that a month after their arrival, every dwarf in middle earth knew about my little daughter and how dear she was to us all. I shrugged out of my furs and boots, sinking down into my armchair. I leaned my head back against the headrest, smiling when I thought back to one of the happiest days of her stay with us. It had happened a week into the visit and we were gathered in adad's chambers.

~*Flashback*~

I walked into adad's chambers to find all four of my children crowded into the kitchen, Ariana and Dis making us some dinner, while Thorin and Frerin tried to sneak little scraps off the plates they had already prepared. I chuckled as Dis smacked Frerin's hand away with the spoon in her hand without looking, acting so like her amad that it took my breath away for a second. I sat down at the table, smiling when Thorin placed a mug of ale in front of me. We all turned at the sound of the door slamming shut and adad's stomping footsteps that echoed from the door. 

We all froze as my father stalked into the chamber and threw his sword onto the wooden drawers next to the door. I moved to stand, worried that something bad had happened. I needn't have worried as a voice we hadn't heard in over 6 months rang out in the room, refreshing like the rain after a drought. "Grandfather." Ariana darted away from the kitchen top and took hold of adad's hand. His face one of shock as she dragged him to the table and pushed him into his seat. He blinked as she put a plate in front of him, taking it off an unresisting Dis. All of us, soaking up the sound of her voice. "Look what Dis taught me to make today. I think I made them right, Dis said I did. What do they taste like?" She asked, her voice so sweet to hear after the silence. 

Adad shook himself out of his stupor and looked down at the pies that rested on his plate, he picked one up and broke a bit off. The pastry flaked away and the smell of gravy and meat drifted through the air. Adad placed the piece of pie into his mouth and chewed, his eyes widening. "Givashel, I can say that I have never tasted anything as fine as this in all my years. Dis taught you well." She beamed at him and helped Dis to bring the rest of the pies and plates to the table. None of us said anything as she chattered on throughout the meal. When we had finished, Thorin and Frerin did the washing up and the rest of us went and sat in the small living area, Ariana curled up next to adad.

Dis cleared her throat and we all turned to look at her. "Namanith, please don't take this wrongly, but why are you speaking now?" Ariana tensed, but relaxed as adad curled an arm around her. "It wasn't that I didn't want to, I did. At the beginning I wasn't sure that I could trust you, no one had been that nice to me before, then I just didn't know how to start talking again. I had just always been told that I was suppose to be seen and not heard and that if I dared to open my mouth I'd be sorry. I found that out." We all flinched, knowing exactly what those words meant, that was what had happened to her before she had arrived with us. Thorin came in and knelt down in front of her. "You will tell us if anyone ever threatens you like that again and we will present you with their tongues. No one speaks to my namanith like that." 

She smiled down at him and nodded, "Can we keep it quiet? Maybe let Dwalin and Balin know, but not anyone else? At least not yet." We all nodded and the evening continued on much as it had been, but we were all thrilled to hear that soft, welcome voice sounding through the chamber. Just before we all left for the evening, Ariana tugged on adad's beard braid and he leant down. "I wanted to give this to you last week, but I forgot. It's what I made in the forge with Thorin and Frerin." She handed him a small token on a piece of leather and we all watched as his eyes teared up. "Givashel, thank you so much. It is beautiful and I will treasure it forever." He passed it over to me and I stared at the delicate engraving on the small piece of metal amazed that my little child had done this.

Thorin and Frerin were puffed up with pride, "We didn't actually touch any of it. We just stood behind her and directed her, she did it all herself." Frernin crowed out and suddenly I realised that everything was alright with my family again, yes we would still grieve for my wife, but the amazing little girl that was sat in front of us had healed us just as we had healed her. I smiled at this realisation, I would no longer care what any of the council said, stuffy bastards that they were, this little child had saved the line of Durin.

~* End*~ 

I chuckled as I remembered what Dwalin's face had looked like when he had heard Ariana speak for the first time, he had about fallen on his ass causing us all to laugh. I closed my eyes and leaned back, just listening to the odd set of footsteps that managed to filter in from the corridor. I frowned when I heard my door open and then close again. I stayed silent, barely able to hear the footsteps that belonged to the person that had entered. _"Adad? Are you alright?"_ Ariana's voice sounded, her Khuzdul perfect, and I sat up again and nodded. In her arms, was the book that Balin had given her for her birthday. I waved my hand and she crawled up into my lap. _"What is it mizimith?"_ I asked her, replying in Khuzdul. It seemed to be the language she preferred and none of us were going to be-grudge her that. She opened the book to a story and I scanned the page quickly.

I inhaled slightly, it was the story of my beginning courting attempts with the dwarrowdam that would later become my wife. _"Will you tell me about her? I've read the story, but it would be different coming from you."_ She said and I nodded, swallowing around the lump in my throat. _"I think my sweet wife would have loved you. She always wanted another daughter, but we were pushing it having three children. Most families generally only have two children, maybe three as after that it can get quite dangerous for the women."_ I told her and she nodded, closing the book and resting it on the table next to us. 

I spoke about how my wife had been everything an attractive dwarrowdam should be, a tidy well kept beard, thick hair braided and decorated with beads and jewelled clasps. Ariana put her head on my shoulder and listened as I talked, telling little stories that at the time had seemed so important, but weren't really now over 85 years later. I told her that when I had first started courting Dris that I blathered on and on and she had just looked at me and said, 'Is your asshole jealous of all the shit that comes out of your mouth?' Ariana giggled at that and I laughed with her. "Yes, you can see how that was completely scandalous. She had said that to the crown prince and it took balls of brass to say that. That was one of the things that endeared me to her, with her I was just Thrain. I wasn't anyone special, she knew that I was the crown prince, but she treated me as any other dwarf." 

I continued to tell little stories until I looked down and found her asleep with a small smile on her lips. I sighed and got up, cradling her in my arms and walking back to her rooms, placing her down and pulling off her boots, belt and fur lined coat. She curled up under the blankets and I smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead and creeping back to my room. I sat back in my armchair and although I was tired, I couldn't resist reading a few of the stories that Balin had given my daughter. I cringed at the first few about myself and Thorin, they seemed to be all about biting and I groaned at the story of me biting Girion's grandfather when he first came into the mountain. None of my kids would let me live that down if they read this. 

I left the book on the table and finally moved through the motions of getting ready for bed, falling asleep straight away; dreaming of my wife and all our adventures. The next morning dawned bright and clear and I sighed as that meant I would have no excuse not to take my daughters across to Dale to look at the markets. I groaned as I strapped my sword to my waist and quickly rebraided all my braids in my hair and beard. I was just clasping the beard braids when Ariana darted through the door, her hair tied back into several different braids. I lifted her up into my arms, hugging her tight, "Good morning mizimith. How are you today?" I asked her and she smiled, signing that she was fine and excited to go to Dale. I nodded, noticing that the bead that Dwalin had carved for her had the runes for strong warrior on it.

I smiled and walked over into the royal dining chamber, seeing my other children already seated there, "Good morning adad, namanith. Are still going to the markets today?" Dis asked and I nodded, letting Ariana down so she could give her brothers a hug and a soft headbump. Thorin scowled at the thought, "Take Balin with you, there's been reports from sentries that a few dwarves from the Blacklock clan entered the mountain very late last night. You know what they're like." He said and I nodded, prepared to allow that knowing how much of a target my daughters were, despite their skills. 

It was as I was leaving the mountain that I realised that far more guards than Balin and a few other were following us. I turned to look at Balin, who shrugged, "Frerin refused to allow Ariana out of the mountain without at least three of her own guards on top of me. Yes mizimith I am aware that you bite and have a lovely selection of daggers to choose from, but I would rather like it if you didn't have to use them." He told her and she sighed loudly, causing the guards to chuckle. One of them stepped forward at her gesture and bowed, Can I ride on your shoulder's please? Your taller than the others. She signed and he looked to me for permission. 

I nodded, "If you don't mind then feel free. If my son's trust you and you've survived Fundin and his son's inspections to actually make it this far, I know you'll protect my daughter." He straightened and nodded, I lifted her up on to his shoulders and she smiled, laughing as they walked along. Although she was higher up than she had ever been, she didn't seem to be holding on to anything, her hands just resting on the guards head. "You can hold my braids princess. I doubt you could hurt me." He mentioned and Ariana tapped his head to show she had heard him. "She say's she is fine for now, but may well do when we reach Dale." Dis told him as she signed at us. I looked at Dis and Balin, we knew that Ariana wanted to be higher up because we were entering a town of men who towered over her far more than any dwarf ever could. 

One of the guards began to whistle little tunes as we walked and although it would have normally annoyed me, it kept a smile on Ariana's face, some of them even making her giggle. "Are you alright to keep my namanith on your shoulders in the town or do you need someone else to take a turn?" Dis asked and the guard shook his head, "No thank you princess, the little one is barely a weight on my shoulders. My own boy's a lot heavier and he never likes to sit still, so I've had a lot worse passengers." Ariana giggled and tapped his head, weaving her fingers gently into his hair as we walked through the gates of Dale. She pointed and signed to us about which stalls she wanted to visit, letting Dis or Balin point at things and nodding when she liked them. I bought each item she pointed and smiled at, knowing that I would spoil her until the end of my days.

Halfway through the market she gestured to Balin and he helped her down, letting her tug him through the crowds. She was pointing at something on a stall and caught the sign for father, so I stayed away for a minute but keeping them in eyesight. _"Someone's watching us, watching me I feel."_ Dis whispered into my ear and I turned to her looking around over her shoulder. I couldn't see a threat, but there were many men and dwarves in the marker place. We moved on through the stalls and I turned as Dis gasped out, seeing the glint of the knife pressed into her side. "Move and your little princess dies." The words were hissed into my ear and lost in the noise of the crowd, but they were spoken from a height that suggested a dwarf was speaking, if the cloaked person holding Dis was any indication as well. 

I looked around and saw my guards a little way off talking to Balin and gesturing widely, but I couldn't see Ariana. My eyes widened and Dis looked at me, I blinked and let my eyes return to roving around the market place trying to find her. One of them chuckled, "Looking for your guards, don't worry we made sure their going to be a little distracted. Tie them up." The one holding Dis ordered and the one behind me moved, cursing as he did so. "The ropes gone, someone's picked my pocket. Fucking men." He growled out and the Dis began to chuckle, I raised an eyebrow and she held her hand out at the height Ariana was. I smiled, hearing the grunt of the dwarf behind me and I turned to find him clutching his groin.

The one holding Dis exhaled sharply as very familiar needle like blade pierced his hand, causing him to drop his dagger to the ground, as he waved his hand I saw a little hand emerge from behind Dis and yank his beard down. Dis then proceeded to elbow him in the face, causing him to drop the ground and allowing Dis to scoop Ariana up in her arms and for the guards to reach us. "Mahal, Fundin is going to have our heads." One of the guards murmured and Balin nodded, "I'll have adad, Dwalin and the princes after my hide." He groaned out and Ariana shook her head, gesturing to the other dwarves. "Yes I know we have them mizimith, but I doubt your brothers are going to feel particularly forgiving at you almost getting hurt."

Ariana groaned and wiggled in Dis' arms, presenting Balin with the length of rope the kidnappers had obviously been hoping to use on us. "I am not even going to ask how you got that Princess." The guard who had given her a ride earlier said, she smirked briefly before placing a innocent look on her face, I chuckled and shook my head. "Not believing it mizimith." She pouted and I swung her up over my shoulder, listening to her giggle as we walked out of the town and back towards the mountains, three of the guards dragging our semi-conscious captors behind us. Ariana gestured to be let down as we approached the mountain, but I shook my head, grunting when she yanked my braids. "No you are going to see your grandfather like this." 

Her head collided with my back and I felt her groan vibrate against my back, causing me to chuckle. I strolled through the mountain, as the people we passed chuckled as she beat against my back. "Adad she has a Thorin like scowl on her face." Dis told me and I hoisted her further onto my shoulder, causing her to shriek and clutch at my tunic. I strolled into the throne room to find my boys and father seated listening to petitions, I ignored them all and walked up to my father before dropping Ariana into his lap. I stood beside the throne with Dis coming to stand next to me. The guards dragged forward the two would-be captors, depositing them in front of the members of the miners guild that were stood petitioning for something. 

I saw Ariana curl around adad's lap, her hands winding into his beard and effectively making sure he couldn't react violently, without hurting her. "These two tried to take the Princess Dis and Crown Prince Thrain. They were stopped with a little bit of Ariana's quick thinking." Balin gestured to Ariana and she smiled at grandfather, releasing one of her hands to sign that she had picked their pockets for the rope they wanted to use. I saw my adad's beard twitch, before his face hardened and he gestured for their hoods to be removed. 

We all held our breath as two Blacklock dwarfs were revealed and Thorin scowled, before walking forward. "How long have you been in our mountain?" He asked and they frowned up at him, one muttering something I couldn't hear. Ariana, however, seemed to be able to as she darted straight off adad's lap and had twisted her fist into the dwarf's beard, her teeth bared and her dagger pointed straight at his eye. Thorin placed a hand on her shoulder, "Namanith, enough." She nodded, tucking her dagger away before curling that fist and smashing it into the dwarf's face. She nodded and skipped back up to sit with adad again. "What did he say Givashel?" Adad asked and Ariana launched into a tirade of Ingleshmek.

It said that Thorin was a disgrace to the Longbeards as he has so little of a beard. It wondered if I wasn't the first to be adopted into this family. She signed, a few words in between causing us all to look at Thorin and Balin as they had been the ones to teach her Ingleshmek. "Those words did not come from either of us." Thorin said through gritted teeth as he looked down at the foreigners. I was angry, how dare they suggest that my son was anything but mine, Mahal he looked like Dris so much and yes his nose was smaller than was conventionally attractive he was still young and his beard hadn't quiet reached it's full volume yet. 

Adad stood with Ariana wrapped in his arms and nodded his head at the guards, "Take them down to the dungeons, we will find out everything they know. By any means necessary." The two dwarfs look over at him in shock. He just grinned maliciously. "You threatened my son and granddaughter and then insulted my grandson, what in Mahal's name did you think I was going to do? Let you go?" Ariana grinned at them, her eyes glinting and nodded. You are truly idiotic if you think you can do that. Bloody Foreigners. She signed the last two words behind adad's back and Frerin and Dis chuckled quietly. 

The guards dragged the two dwarfs away and the miners followed, clearly aware that now was not the time for them to get what they wanted. "Other than that, how was the market mizimith?" Frerin asked and she smiled, gesturing that she had really enjoyed it and she really liked Tristahal too. I blinked then realised that must have been the guard whose shoulders she had been on. Frerin nodded and escorted Ariana and Dis up to the royal quarters, gesturing that we were to get a few hits in for him, I grinned and then turned to my son and father. "Shall we go and find out what they had planned?" I asked and they nodded, adad proceeding us to go down to the dungeons. 

It took us into the early evening to wheedle out all the information from the two captors, before sending them on their way with a few fingers missing and some severe bruising and quiet possibly most of their beards missing. We cleaned our hands before heading back up to the royal quarters, we had barely walked through the door when Frerin was darting to hide behind Thorin. "Save me, they are insane. Ariana actually threw a plant pot at my head." He said and I could see the dirt in his blonde hair, Thorin just chuckled, "Any particular reason she threw it?" He asked as he approached the receiving area. 

Arian was sat reading a book and didn't look up as she spoke, "For shits and giggles." She said, dryly, in Westron and we all looked between the two of them. "Mizimith who taught you such language?" I asked and she looked over at us, "Someone long before all of you." She said glancing back down and we all frowned, knowing that it had probably been aimed at her rather than at others around her. We ignore that comment as we settled down to eat, Ariana spending most of the night curled up in Thorin's lap, eventually falling asleep on him, her small hand wound tightly into his braids and hair. I was truly blessed to have such a family as this around me, my mood light and it continued to stay as such, until a missive the next morning. _Fucking tree-hugging weed-eaters. Why did they need to come here?_


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise. That belongs to JRRT.
> 
> A/N: Aier - Little one. Mizimith - Little jewel. Also at this point I am leaving it that Ariana has absolutely no idea that she has magic, she is an orphan and has no idea who her birth parents are. This however will be explained more later in the story :)
> 
> Underlined  \- Elvish
> 
> Thranduil POV

I sighed softly, directing my elk towards the gateway of Erebor. I had truly left it as long as I could between visits to the mountain, conducting any business with them through raven, but I was pushing the respectful limits to acknowledge a new royal child and I really didn't want to start a war over this, Valar knew that the dwarves were incredibly touchy when it came to the small things. I was met by the blonde grandson, Frerin and dismounted handing my elk off to one of my men, not trusting the dwarves with my friend. "The line Durin welcome's you to Erebor, ElfKing. If you will follow me I will lead you to the throne room. I am aware you know your way, but unfortunately one of our staircases crumbled a little the other day and is in repair. Wouldn't want to charged with your murder." He joked and moved off in front of us. 

I refrained from rolling my eyes at the little Durin's folk that were running around the mountain, Legolas walking beside me, a comfort in itself. I was aware that I was colder towards my son than many fathers were, but I couldn't bare to look at the elfling that held all my features, but was so like his mother inside. If anything I wished that he looked less like me and more like her, so that none would know that he was the bastard cold-hearted Elfking's spawn. I was very aware how other races and others of my kin saw me. I suppose that many of them were right, I had long ago given up on finding my one and had sealed away my heart, even from my son. 

Valar knew how Aidnā had even stood being friends with me, let alone married to me. I let my eyes rove around the hall as that particular conversation came to mind. She had thrown herself down on to the grass beside me and grouched on about all the suitors that were trying for her hand and how they were all boorish, uneducated idiots. I had then complained myself about the power hungry wenches that were trying to get me to court them. The conversation I had then come up with was, "Aidnā, you know you're my best friend? You can not only tolerate me but also make sure I'm not behaving like an complete arse, marry me so I don't have to deal with these crown stealing harpies and you don't have to deal with boorish idiots. I'll give you anything you want." She had then slapped my arm and scolded me for being so unromantic. 

However, she did marry me and provide me with my son, for which I would forever be grateful for. When she had died I had turned colder to Legolas, not because I had loved her as my one love, but because I had lost a true friend, practically my sister. I shook my head, clearing it as the door's opened up into the throne room, I stared up at the throne and found the king arguing with his grandson, the rumble of Khuzdul echoing around the hall. The prince in front of me flinched and motioned for us to walk along the free standing walkway, I saw Legolas looking over the edge as we walked and paling at the drop down into the depths of the mountain. "Greeting King Under the Mountain." I said and smirked inside at the looks of shock on their faces, it wasn't my fault they had missed our entrance.

Thrór turned to us and bowed shallowly, "Greeting Elfking of the Greenwood, I trust your journey was a pleasant one?" He asked and I returned the bow, "It was as it ever is." I answered knowing that a vague answer annoyed the dwarf. He bristled and I saw prince's roll their eyes. I studied the kings eyes and sighed internally, the gold sickness was growing in his eyes, it was obvious to those who didn't see the king too often that he would soon fall even further into the madness of his line. I was about to speak when the door behind me opened again and little feet ran across the walkway behind us. A small figure brushed past me and darted up the steps, long dark hair streaming behind as it ran.

I stared in astonishment as the gold sickness I had just seen lifted from Thrór's eyes and they cleared, despite the presence of the Arkenstone behind him. He picked up the child and rubbed his nose against its. A giggle echoed around the throne room, "Elfking I would like you to meet my newest granddaughter, Ariana Durin." Thrór said turning the child to face us, I inhaled softly as the bright green eyes caught mine. I was sure that many a dwarf had called them Emerald, but to me they seemed more like the leaves that graced the trees in spring, a bright enchanting green. I bowed my head, "Greetings little one." I said softly, Legolas coughing quietly next to me to cover his laugh as she glared down at me. 

Everyone in the hall froze in shock, myself included when she opened her mouth and flawless Sindarin flowed out. "I am not little. I am the perfect height for a child, maybe it is you who is to tall, Elfking." The prince's were darting their gazes between their sister and me, hands straying to their swords as I walked forward and leant down slightly. I placed a finger under her chin and tilted it upwards.  "Where did you learn the tongue of my people?"  I asked her softly, making sure that I didn't get stabbed so early in the visit. Instead of an answer, I yanked my hand back as a set of very sharp teeth nipped at the end of my finger. I looked between my finger and the child, who seemed wholly unrepentant for having bitten me. 

I could hear the prince's snickering and Legolas coughed again, I tilted my head to the side and watched as she raised her chin, stubbornly. I finally nodded, the corner of my mouth twitching. "Well played princess, I apologise for touching without you leave." She nodded, before smiling and gesturing to be put down. I moved back to allow the movement, even though Thrór looked like he would rather tear off his beard than let her down near me. She moved forward before dropping into a bow and darting behind me, I turned to find her tugging on Legolas' hand and leading him out of the hall. 

The two prince's darted past me, "Mizimith? Where are you going with him?" Thorin asked and she gestured something, "Yes I am aware he's far taller than any of us, that doesn't explain anything." He sighed out and she shot him a look of fond exasperation, before turning back to Legolas. "May I sit on your shoulders? I've never been that tall before."  She asked her lip wobbling and Legolas nodded, I looked on seeing the expression on his face and remembering his mother wearing the same. "As you wish aier." He said and lifted her up onto his shoulders, her hands resting lightly on his head. "To what do we owe your visit?" Thrór asked abruptly, turning my attention back to him. 

I turned to face him and we quickly fell into a discussion over trade and how it didn't seem like we were getting a fair trade from the dwarves. This of course made the semi-civil conversation descend into a flinging match of insults and glares. It would probably of continued on to fists flying, if the elder princess hadn't walked swiftly into the room and approached us. "I would suggest you both head down to the training grounds immediately, we are having a few issues with Ariana and your prince." She said and I nodded, sighing heartily inside at what mischief Legolas was causing now. He had been so good for many other visits to various lands, why did he choose this one to misbehave.

However, it became clear that it wasn't Legolas that was misbehaving. A collection of dwarves were stood on the training grounds, one whose dagger seemed to be dripping blood from it. The guards were standing in a half circle around Legolas and the little princess. I marched towards them and froze catching sight of the blood dripping between my son's fingers where they held his arm. "What is the meaning of this?" I hissed out, angry that we had barely been in the mountain half a day and someone had attacked my son. "They were aiming for the Princess my King. I did not understand the words they spoke, but the guards reacted angrily. They just weren't as close to her as I was." Legolas answered when no one else did.

The princess in question was curled up into his arms and trying to look at the cut on his arm. He shushed her and as I bent down I could see a faint sheen of tears in her gaze. Her finger stuttered in signing. "She said she's sorry, that she didn't know there were any Blacklocks left in the city still. She wouldn't have come down here if she had known." A kindly, but gruff voice said and I turned to find a healer. "Oín at your service. This should stop the bleeding." He said handing me a cloth coated in a substance, I nodded and placed it over Legolas' wound. Ariana looked away and tilted her head, clearly having caught sight of something. 

She stood and moved towards her grandfather signing so rapidly that even the healer was shaking his head, when I looked over at him. "She is using a version I do not know well." What ever she had said had the king making a command in Khuzdul and the five dwarves that had attacked my son and the princess were being dragged away. "I apologise I, like my granddaughter, had thought that we had gotten rid of that particular clan of dwarves." I nodded and helped Legolas to stand, before he was taken away by the healers. I stood there brushing some dirt from my robes when I felt a tug at my sleeve, looking down to find myself caught in that green gaze again as she held her arms up, asking to be picked up.

I raised an eyebrow, but did so, settling her on my hip as I had once done to Legolas as a child. "I am sorry. They tried to take adad and Dis last week from Dale, I helped stop them. We thought they had left with their kin, but I think they've been hiding down near the mines and avoiding the guards. I'm sorry they hurt him, your son. I didn't think he would get hurt when we came down here."  Her voice was incredibly hushed, from where she spoke into my ear. I squeezed my arms undetectably tighter. "Do not worry child, I know this was no fault of yours. I am however intrigued as to how no one has noticed that the hem of your tunic and coat have several dagger sheaths sewn into them." I asked her and she ducked her head. 

I tilted her head up and began to walk through the halls with her, internally gleeful as every dwarf stopped to stare as I breezed past them. "They just think I'm a child, they don’t expect me to do anything but bite them and possibly cry, because that is what all 7 year olds do. They don't know that I speak, they think because I don't that I am deaf as well. I am not, I hear, I see and I speak to those who deserve it. I am not a stupid child." She whispered into my ear as she directed be down to the healers chambers. I sat down and waited with her sat on my lap and twined a strand of her hair around my finger. 

"I must admit it is a flaw of most races to underestimate their children. I suppose as Elves we are guilty of it as well, yet I believe that because we live longer and have fewer children that we cherish our children even more, even when they appear to be different." I stared down at her and brushed her hair back from her eye, my gaze easily catching on the few beads in her hair. "I take it you taught yourself Sindarin? For I know that few dwarves speak it here in the mountain." I asked and she nodded, ducking her head into my chest a three dwarves walked past. "Alright there princess?" One of them asked and she signed something that seemed to appease them.

I simply stared at them as they lingered, hoping that it would scare them into leaving. They walked off after a heart beat muttering about 'stuck-up pointy-eared bastards with hearts of ice.' I thought I had not tensed visibly, but clearly I had when she looked up at me.  "I am sorry for my kin. They can be dense, only seeing what is on the surface. Also the answer is yes, I taught myself. The library is one of the few places I can go where I don't have a large guard, it also calms me if I can't get to family. I learnt Khuzdul without speaking so learning Sindarin wasn't much harder. Although trying to read it was a little difficult." She said, scrunching her nose up. 

I huffed slightly in surprise, this child had told me she was only seven years old, yet she spoke Sindarin and Khuzdul better than many who had spoken it from birth. I absently stroked her hair and waited for the healers to come out with my son. As they entered Ariana slid down off my lap and ran over to Legolas, hugging his knees. He smiled softly and bent down, "It was not your fault little one, I would do it again to protect a child." He told her and she nodded, turning to lead us back up through the halls to the dining hall. Although it pained me to do so, we would have to stay in the mountain tonight and leave for the Greenwood on the morrow.

As we entered the hall, Ariana darted off and clambered up into a seat next to her sister. She was signing away to her and Legolas leaned over to me, "She will speak to us, in front of us and to her family, but she will not show it to her people? What does that say about them? Also have you seen how her presence lessens the madness in Thrór's eyes?" He asked me and I took a drink from the wine in front of me, my nose twitching in disgust at the taste. Clearly they had given us cheap wine, probably as we were nothing to them but a nuisance, well two could play that game. Let us see how long they last in my Greenwood with little meat and no ale.

I turned to Legolas, keeping on eye on the royal family, not trusting them to be particularly polite when my back was turned.  "I do not think it says much about them, but we already knew that. I also think there is more to that story than meets the eyes. And yes I noticed it this morning, clearly there is something about her that beats back the madness temporarily." I said, mulling it over. As we were lead away to the guest chambers after the feast I saw Ariana wave a sleepy hand in goodbye as she was carried back to the royal quarters by a dwarf with a ghastly mohwak. I nodded my head in return and entered the chambers that they had set aside for us, fortunately there was a small balcony that I could look up at the sky from, Elves did not do well inside mountains and Wood Elves liked even less to be away from the star light. 

I stood there looking up at the sky and wandering what Aidnā would think of the little girl that was still so much a mystery. I leant against the cold stone of the balcony and stared out across the plains to Dale, watching as a group of dwarves walked away from the mountain, several of them limping, obviously they had been the ones from earlier today that had threatened Ariana. I stayed watching the stars for a little while longer, singing softly before moving about my nightly routine. Although it was obviously a dwarfish made bed, it still managed to accommodate my frame for which I was thankful for. 

The next morning I awoke with the sun and made my way down to the stable area to check on my friend, Rián. I was brushing the coat of my elk when I heard little feet running into the stables, I turned to find Ariana ducking in under the bar of the stall and coming to touch my robes, almost as if she was checking I was still there. I frowned slightly and knelt to face her. "Is something wrong aier?" I asked her, picking her up as she burrowed her head into my shoulder, underneath all my hair. I continued to stroke a hand on Rián's flank, until she moved and placed her hand on my left cheek, gently. I flinched internally, no one had touched this side of my face in millennia, not even Aidnā. 

She trailed her little fingers over the flawless skin, then murmured. "Why do you hide it?" Her voice sounded different in Westron, but was still soft. I looked down at her, "Hide what?" My tongue reverting as my anxiety rose. She looked up at, "What ever is under this. I can feel something over you face, something that shouldn't be there. I don't know why or what it is though." She murmured and I tilted my head, ignoring her question for a moment. "How do you know there is something there?" I asked, dreading the answer. She looked up at me and tears glistened in her eyes. "I saw it in my mind, in my dreams. You were in battle, in this amazing silver armour and there was a great dragon and there was fire and screaming and …" She choked on her words as the tears fell down her cheeks.

I tightened my grip. "And what little one?" I prompted her and she looked up at me, "And I saw it hit you. Saw it catch this side of your face." She sniffled then twisted her fingers into my hair. "Then the dream changed and all I could see were trees, trees as tall as the halls in the mountain and there was a huge throne with antlers upon it. And you were sat in it, but there was no mark, just like now." She said, brow furrowing. I sighed, realising that she had no idea that she even had magic, let alone the power it took to sense a glamour or see memories of the past, even flashes of the future. It also made sense now why the gold sickness lessened when she was near, even at such a young age her magic was stronger than that of the call of the gold.

I looked around and seeing no one dropped the glamour briefly showing her the scarred side of my face. She didn't even flinched as the white of my blind eye was revealed or the gap where the flesh was forever burned away, revealing muscle and tendons underneath. She merely stroked a finger across the exposed flesh softly, "I am not afraid of you. You have survived something horrible and not let it break you. The fact that you bear the scar does not make you weak, scar's show you are strong enough to go into something and come out stronger on the other side." She said sagely and I wondered what kind of experiences this little girl had gone through to know that.

I nodded and replaced the glamour, hoping that no one had seen and placed Ariana on the floor of the stable, where she reached a hand up and brushed her fingers across the muzzle of the giant elk before her. She smiled at him, then me before dragging me out of the stall. "Come it's nearly breakfast. You won't get anything to eat unless you get there early. Dwarves eat a lot." She told me and I nodded, allowing myself to be lead through the corridors and up into the dining hall. Thrór was already sat on his throne and Ariana dropped my hand to run to him.

I bowed my head to him and sat down, preparing a plate of fruit and toast for my breakfast. Legolas came and joined me not moments later and Thrór finally spoke. "How long will you be staying with us Elfking? Simply so I know if I need to provide more greens." He rumbled out, Ariana rolling her eyes next to him at his gruff words. "We will be leaving some time this morning if you have put in place all the changes to the trade agreements we made yesterday." I said, slicing apart an apple and eating it with disinterest as he chewed on a hunk of meat, swallowing it before nodding. "Aye it was all drawn up last night. I'll have them brought to you chambers for you to look over as soon as your are ready." I nodded, "Send for them now, I will look them over as soon as I am done here." I said, trying to appear polite even though all I wanted was to tell him to shove it all.

Erebor wouldn't last through the winter without the supply of fresh produce we sent, but I was not petty enough to harm children especially Ariana with our grudge. Legolas and I took our leave as soon as we had finished, which seemed to be not a moment too soon as the other members of the royal family as well as the captain of the guard and his boys entered the room and descended on the breakfast like a pack of wolves who had not eaten in weeks. I felt my eyebrow twitch in disgust and saw Legolas scrunch up his nose at their habits. 

I moved quickly back to my rooms and read through the amended trade agreements, Legolas having disappeared somewhere. When I found them to be satisfactory I spoke quickly with my guards, ordering them to have everything packed and ready to go after the midday meal. Handing them my belongings and the trade agreements. Legolas was already present in the hall with Ariana at his side, she giggled at something he had said and waved at me once she had seen me. It was hard for me to stay annoyed at this morning when her face was so bright and open. I sat and began to eat my own small lunch, the heaviness of dwarf cooking not sitting well in an Elven stomach. Thrór entered the room shortly after along with his son. "Was everything to your liking?" He asked sitting down and I nodded, "It was. We will be leaving after lunch." I told him shortly and he nodded, seeming relieved by this.

As we finished, Thrór, his son and Ariana escorted us down to the entrance of the mountain, where my guards were waiting with our horses and Rián. I bowed shallowly and swung up gracefully onto Rián's back, watching as Legolas paused before swinging up into his saddle as Ariana passed him something. "Safe journey." Thrain translated Ariana's signing and we nodded, turning and riding across the plain to Dale, I was eager to get away from the mountain, but at the same time I wished to stay, like something was tugging me back.

It was as we were passing Dale, that I saw the note clutched in Legolas' hand. "What did she give you my son?" I asked and Legolas rode closer to hand me the note, written in Sindarin scripture, some of the letters needing a little more practice, but still good for a child raised by dwarves. It was then I registered the meaning of the words. 'Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; often times we call this man cold, when he is only sad.' I looked over at Legolas and tilted my head slightly asking for an explanation. He sighed, "Some of the dwarves mentioned that you were cold and unfeeling, I said something to Ariana and she had said something in Khuzdul. I asked what it meant and she had shaken her head. Now I know part of it, although which part is anyone's guess." I nodded, absently wondering how much magic she had to not only see past not only my glamour, but into my heart as well. What a curious little child.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise, sadly.
> 
> Lirimaer - Lovely one.  
>  _"Italics"_ -Khuzdul  
>  "Underlined"  \- Elvish  
>  _Italics_ Thoughts
> 
> I realise that this ended rather abruptly, but I want the rest of this plot line to be in Dis' POV. I think that will also include a certain red scaly beastie who may or may not breathe fire. And it will contain Kidnapping (of epic stupidity on the part of the kidnappers) and Thranduil being the worlds biggest asshole. 
> 
> Dwaine POV

I stomped through the hallways towards the training grounds, grumbling the entire way. We had just celebrated Ariana's second birthday with us and even though she had loved the presents we had gotten her, her eyes has lit up at the book of Elvish stories written in their fluffy script and the Elvish made blade that had come from the thrice damned Greenwood. _"Fucking piece of shit, shiny-ass letter opener sent from the bastard spawn of an orc."_ I muttered under my breath as I threw a few of our new trainees a look that would have curdled milk. I immediately pulled my axes and started going through a series of warm up exercises, hoping to burn off some of my temper before Thorin came down and poked fun at me for being so touchy. 

"What do we have to blame for your charming disposition today?" I growled as Frerin appeared in my line of sight, I'd rather it had been Thorin. "Fuck off." I told him, swinging my axe around and watching him dodge out of the way before drawing his own axe. "Are you still pissed off that Ariana liked the Elvish blade? Let it go cousin. I saw her practicing with the lovely little short sword you made her last night. She said it was easier to wield, it was familiar." I smirked at that, _take that you fucking tree-shagging pansy-assed leaf-muncher. _I thought as I swung both axe's around only to find them both blocked, but by two separate weapons at the end of two separate arms. "Oh for the love of Mahal, if you can't make it down here in time don't interrupt when I've already started." I growled out at Thorin, who just chuckled.__

__Instead of him backing out, Frerin bowed out and Thorin squared off against me. "Are you as pissed as I am that the pointy-eared fuckheads are in favour with your sister?" I asked and he sneered, "I really wish there wasn't this rule that if your allies, then you need to acknowledge and visit the new royal children. They wouldn't have come and Ariana wouldn't know they exist outside of stories and I wouldn’t have to listen to adad having a curse filled tirade every time she says something in the flowery language of theirs." He snarled out and we soon forgot words in order to lunge at each other and trade blows. It wasn't until we had sufficiently calmed down that I realised Ariana had come down to watch us and was holding the short sword I had worked hard to create, swords weren't my best work._ _

__She smiled and hopped down off the fence and came over to me. _"Will you teach me? The Elvish one is a little weird, the metal feels too different right now, too light." _She whispered out and I nodded, grabbing a spare sword from the collection at the side of the field and standing next to her. "Alright you ready? Copy me, watching my foot work okay?" I told her and she nodded, studying me intently as I moved through an easy defence pattern, step, block, cut, step, block, swing, step, turn and block. I turned to watch her do it and apart from a little stumble she copied it perfectly.___ _

____Unlike the others, she had told me a little about where she had grown up before we had taken her in. She had told me about learning to use a dagger to skin things, to catch fish and to defend herself if needed, she told me that living in a swampland full of dangerous beasties had taught her to be quiet and move carefully and how living on the streets had taught her to pick pockets to survive, but only taking what she need to live. This little girl was far stronger than any of us realised and in time, with the right training she would make a formidable warrior. Not that we were going to put her in that position for all the gold in the mountain._ _ _ _

____I moved through several different defence patterns, demonstrating them and making her copy them moving in every direction, making sure they were perfect before I even contemplated raising a sword towards her. I kept my strike slow to begin with, speeding up as the morning wore on, keeping them light in strength despite the speed. I was fully aware that while she spoke, acted and was practically a dwarf, she did not have the same physicality that our children had that made them more resilient to harder hits. We paused as the thirteenth bell rang and I clapped a hand on her shoulder, sheathing the sword and moving her towards the edge of the field._ _ _ _

____She smiled up at me, sweat shining on her brow and her hair sticking to her forehead. _"Strong warrior indeed, hmm zundushith?"_ I murmured and she scrunched up her nose at the word. Little bird? I think I was insulted. She signed to me and I laughed, stroking a hand down her hair. _"No mizimith you were not. I simply meant that you remind me of a little bird, someone who can fly even without wings."_ I told her and she frowned, before nodding. I knew that any endearment we gave her would probably be lost on her until she grew older, but I wanted her to have at least some good memories of her childhood. _ _ _ _

____We moved up into the city and towards the dining halls, she had placed her sword back in the custom made sheath I had designed for her, it strapped across her back rather than her waist as she was so tiny. As we reached the royal dining hall she stilled and looked down the corridor, " _What is it little one?"_ I asked her as she curled into the side of me, wrapping her hand around mine. Grandfather was acting weird this morning, he was muttering under his breath and snapped at me when I spoke to him. She signed slowly against my hand, not wanting anyone who was observing us to see. I frowned and picked her up, hugging her tight. _"You can sit with me if you wish, I'll defend you against anything, I promise."_ I told her and she nodded, grasping one of my braids in her hand. _ _ _ _

____After a year with us she had grown only a small amount, one good year not really making up for 6 bad ones. She had filled out though, looking more like a child than a half starved waif, but she was delicate like many female children of men were. I walked into the room and moved to sit down in my normal seat, glancing over at the king from the corner of my eye. He did look like the gold lust was particularly bad today, well it must have been to cause him to snap at Ariana, she was generally his reason for breathing. Thorin dropped into the chair beside me, causing Ariana to jump and shy back slightly and him to narrow his eyes slightly. I nodded at him over Ariana's head and then used my chin to point at the king._ _ _ _

____Thorin frowned, something he had been doing a lot of lately and nodded. We would speak about this later clearly, _"Namanith, Dis was wondering if you would accompany her down to the forges after lunch, she want's your help with a piece of silver work and apparently our fingers are far to fat to do it."_ He said, scowling down at his fingers and I chuckled. While it was very likely that Dis had said this, brutally honest as she was, I doubt she had said anything of the kind. Although he tended to be as subtle as a troll with a cold on a good day, Thorin did have his moments, although not half as often as the average dwarf. Ariana smiled over at him and patted his hand._ _ _ _

____He smiled over at her and she giggled when he tried to tickle her. _"Oi, keep those fat fingers of yours to yourself. I don't need them near me."_ I groused and Ariana carried on giggling, her mood lighter than when we had walked in. It wasn't until after we had sent Ariana off with Dis that he cornered me, shoving me into his chambers and rounding on me. "What's is this about my grandfather? Why did Ariana flinch away from me? What did you do?" He shot the questions out at me and I bristled at the last one, poking a finger into his chest. _ _ _ _

____"Let's get one thing perfectly clear here, cousin. I would rather jump into dragon fire than harm Ariana. I would submit myself willingly for punishment if I had." I snarled out and he nodded, raising his hands to placate me. Like fuck that's going to work now. I thought viciously as I paced in front of him. "We were walking up to the dining hall when she suddenly stopped and curled into my side, trying to hide and curled her hand around mine. Down the corridor was the king. I was confused, normally she ran straight for him, but she wasn’t even looking at him. It was like when she had arrived all over again. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that he was acting weird this morning, muttering under his breath and snapped at her when she spoke to him." I sighed and wiped a hand over my face._ _ _ _

____Thorin stared at me for a moment before his body seemed to deflate and he slumped down into a chair near the fire. "I thought I had been imagining it, that Frerin and I were wrong. We thought he had been acting stranger than normal, but he has either been spending his free time in the forge or the treasure hall. I had hoped his gold lust wasn't going to turn into sickness so soon. Adad received a missive this morning, the elves are coming again. Thranduil and five others, they want Grandfather to return the jewels of Lasgalen. If his gold sickness is so great that he won't speak to Ariana in kindness then I fear for what he will do, we cannot afford a war with the elves. Pointy-eared green munching bastards they may be, but wood elves are skilled and vicious. The blade they sent Ariana was a starter one." He huffed out._ _ _ _

____I nodded, this turn of events was worrying, if the elfking thought we were being offensive then he could and probably would start a war. "If your grandfather doesn't give those gems back and Thrandy perceives it to be a threat or offensive, I wouldn't put it past him to start a war with us. Although if he is fond enough of Ariana to send her gifts for her birthday, maybe he will grant us grace to get her out of the path. She doesn't need to be exposed to this." I said as I sat down heavily next to him and he nodded, both of us jumping at the knock on the door. "Enter."_ _ _ _

____We both breathed a sigh of relief when Frerin walked in, only for us both to jump up when he revealed a rather impressive red mark that was sure to bruise by the morrow. "Nadadith, what happened?" Thorin asked moving over and checking his face. Frerin sighed, "I questioned the king. I asked him which gems he wanted prepared for tomorrow. He said he would see to it, I said that I didn't mind helping and he struck out at me, yelling and cursing in Ancient Khuzdul. I only caught a few words and they sounded like 'thief' and 'traitor'. Thor' I think he's really losing it." Frerin's eyes were glazed slightly and it reminded me that he was ten years younger than Thorin, twenty younger than me. Seeing his grandfather break was difficult for him._ _ _ _

____Thorin sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "We were just talking about this, apparently he snapped at Ariana for just talking to him earlier and it has scared her, although it hasn't quite undone all our work. If he doesn't give those gems over tomorrow, we will have no political relationship with the Greenwood I don't think. That is the only reason there has been no war, we need each other but they can go elsewhere for what we provide." Thorin grumbled and then stood, pacing in front of us. "For the foreseeable future, Ariana goes nowhere near grandfather without one of us with her, I don't care if he seems to be having a good day or not, I will not risk her." We nodded and I stood, "I need to go back to the training fields, I've been gone too long as it is." I moved through the rest of the day in a fog, barely remembering anything and waking from the haze when I realised I was in bed. I shook my head, hoping tomorrow I would be back on top form._ _ _ _

____I stood with Ariana out on the battlements the next morning as we awaited the Elves to arrive, she was excited to see them again and when I asked why she simply said she liked feeling tall when they carried her. I frowned, but could understand why she liked feeling bigger than us for once, she was so fragile in body compared to our children. She clapped as the huge antlers of that monstrous creature the king rode came into view, darting down the steps and rushing out to receive them. _"Fucking elves, don't see what's so special about the leaf-eared tree-shagging grass munchers. Their all cold and hairless."_ I groused as I walked down the stairs after her, several of the guards chuckling at my words. _ _ _ _

____The king was off the elk-deer creature thing as soon as it had stopped and his eyes seemed to unfreeze as he saw Ariana, clearly she had a way with kings and making them normal for a moment. She bowed to him and he nodded his head in return. He spoke to her in that flowery language of his and she smiled nodded, her hands signing what she wanted said. "She said she is enjoying the stories that you sent, that the language is a little different to what she knows. Also that her sword has yet to see any training as she's still learning how to use a short sword and yours is a little big for the moment." I added on the end and she turned to look at me scowling and I raised an eyebrow, it was._ _ _ _

____The elf king nodded, "The stories are written in Silvan, not Sindarin. The dialects do vary, but are easy enough to follow if you are talented enough." She beamed up at him as he smoothed a hand over her head, "Also the sword was sent with the intent that it not be used right away, but when you were sufficiently trained. I offer the service of one of my trainers to teach you how elves fight, in the safety of the Greenwood of course." He sent me a sly look and I knew that at some point we would have to take her to the fucking forest for those lessons, we'd be guilt tripped into going._ _ _ _

____I grunted and gestured for them to enter the mountain, Ariana darting over to hold my hand. "The king will see you in the throne room, you can see Ariana again afterwards if you wish." I told them as I pointed them in the right direction, knowing they vaguely knew their way. Thrandy nodded and walked away, Ariana tugged on my hand as soon as he was gone. I want to watch, I need to. She signed and I frowned, she really didn't, but I wasn't going to argue with her. We slipped out on to one of galleries and looked down on the Elves approaching the throne. _"Grandfather doesn't look well today, he looks like he did yesterday. He isn't going to do it is he?" _Ariana asked me and I looked down at the scene before us, shaking my head.___ _ _ _

______It played out just as we had feared, with Thrór keeping the gems and Thranduil storming off towards the entrance of the mountain. Ariana tugged on my hand and we both hurried down after them. Ariana darted ahead of me, her size giving her an advantage, she reached the great elk thing long before I did and as I stood to the side trying to catch my breath, she was focused on Thranduil as he approached. "Out of my way child." He snapped out at her and she flinched, but stood her ground. "No I shall not move. I am sorry that my grandfather has decided not to honour a request you have made, but don't take it out on me. If it were up to me I would give you those gems. You aren't the only one he has wronged recently in this mountain."  She snapped something out to Thranduil, her voice loud and every dwarf in the vicinity turned to stare at her._ _ _ _ _ _

______Thranduil stared down at her as well and I growled, tears were welling in her eyes and I really wanted to stick my axe in him for making her cry. Thranduil moved towards her and she moved away from him. "I am sorry for detaining you Elf King, I hope your journey home is a safe one and I apologise for the wasted journey."  She spoke again and moved over towards me. He seemed to stare at her, the coldness of his eyes confused and a little hurt as she refused to look at him. In the end he nodded, speaking once he was on his creature. "The offer to have lesson's in the Greenwood is still valid, despite today's occurrences. Also I am the one who owes you an apology, Lirimaer. You are right, I should not have taken it out on you." With that he rode off with his company. _ _ _ _ _ _

______I turned to find most of the mountain staring at Ariana, who turned to face them, a Thorin like scowl on her face. _"Just because no one had heard me speak, didn't mean that I couldn't. Now go about your day, unless you have nothing better to do than stare at an eight year old."_ She snapped out and suddenly there was a flurry of activity around us. I sighed and led Ariana back up to her area of the royal chambers, the tension in her shoulders belaying how calm she was appearing. I let her go as she darted into the bathroom, sitting in the armchair as Thorin, Dis and Frerin entered the room, Frerin showing a truly tremendous shiner._ _ _ _ _ _

______Thorin sighed, frowning when he heard Ariana's sniffling coming from the bathroom. _"The elf king took the slight as we perceived it, he was angry and snapped at her. It looked like she then told him off good and proper, however now the whole mountain and beyond will know that not only does she speak, but it is not only our language she speaks in. There are many who hate the elves passionately and I dread what they will try if they find out about this. She was very shaken by the whole situation today, not just the snapping, but also that your grandfather didn't honour his word. I think she fears he will not honour other words as well."_ I whispered to them and Frerin frowned._ _ _ _ _ _

______Ariana came out of the bathroom, darting over and curling up on the seat between Frerin and Thorin, her eyes red and face flushed. Frerin shushed her and pulled her close to him, _"None of us will let you go, you know this don't you. You are a child of the line Durin now and we will not let you leave easily. I think I speak for us all when I say that I would rather die before seeing you hurt."_ He said and she flinched at his words. _"I don't want anyone dying for me. I want you all to live so I get to keep you."_ She murmured out, slowly falling asleep under the soothing motion of Thorin's finger's stroking her hair. I looked over at her as a rock seemed to settle in my stomach. _"I have a bad feeling about all of this."_ I whispered to the room, a sense of foreboding settling in the air._ _ _ _ _ _


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise!
> 
> I have tried to put a lot in this chapter so sorry if it reads a little disjointedly, I tend to write different sections and then go back to fill in the gaps between them :S I apologise for any spelling mistakes, my stories aren't beta'd so any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Dis POV

I sighed out as I sat surrounded by the ladies of the court, honestly how they had nothing better to natter on about other than how gorgeous my brothers were and how it was such a shock that my sister spoke, I will never know. I fidgeted and casually pulled out a dagger I was engraving for Ariana, ignoring how the room fell silent. Many who lived within the mountain thought I was more even tempered, more level-headed than my brothers, this wasn't true, I was just as foul tempered on occasion. I however chose to show it differently, by being cunning and shrewd rather than a raging Oliphant in a china shop. I raised an eyebrow at the stares and soon the tittering started up again and I rolled my eyes, Mahal, but I hated these little sessions. 

I whipped my head around as the door slammed open and Balin ran into the room, _"Princess, have you seen your little sister?"_ He asked, desperately and I shook my head, standing. _"No, why? What has happened?"_ I demanded and he shook his head darting back out of the door. I picked up the dagger and moved after him, _"Balin, tell me what has happened. Where is Ariana?"_ I snapped out and he slowed slightly. _"We have just received a missive stating that the princess is in danger, that the possible kidnappers will be taking her and keeping her until your grandfather gives their leader the throne. Of course they haven't given us the name of the leader."_ He growled out and I tensed, of course they would take Ariana, up until four days ago she had been the most prized treasure of grandfathers.

I followed him into the throne room to find grandfather tucking the Arkenstone into a cloth and putting his pocket, before turning to face us. _"Have we found her?"_ He asked and I could see that today the gold sickness was lesser, perhaps because of the panic surrounding Ariana's disappearance. Heads were shaken all around, except for Frerin's who seemed to be missing. We were planning a search route when he was dragged in being supported by our cousin, Gloín. _"I found him down by the western forges, Oín's seen him and said the wounds are mainly superficial, but there is a possibility of concussion. He may also have a few broken ribs."_ He told us and looking at Frerin you could see why, his face seemed to be a constant area of bruising with cuts interspersed. He was limping and his free arm was wrapped around his waist. 

I moved over and steadied him, helping him sit on the steps to the throne, but his words sent chills through us all. _"They took her, almost positive they were Ironfists. They kept muttering on about how you weren't a true king, how you weren't worthy of the position. We were walking down by the forges as Ariana wanted to finish a piece she'd been doing when I got attacked from behind. I tried to keep the attention on me so she could run, but this hulking brute appeared behind her and hoisted her into a sack. I heard her head hit the rock as he swung her around onto his back, I don't think it was deliberate as they all began to call him out on it, saying she was worth more to us alive than not. I think they are hoping the Durin line will step aside for their lordling to rule if they give Ariana back."_

I sat down heavily on the steps next to him and we stared over at Dwalin and Thorin, who seemed to be planning something. _"They won't be staying in the mountain, we would be well within our rights to destroy them completely if they were. Its likely they'll be near Dale, there's a small outcrop of abandoned houses on the ridge just beyond Ravenhill. That would be the best bet for them to be. I just hope they have as little sense as they seem to, it's daylight hours, anyone could have walked along and seen them do this. Also it gives them less time to get away, I'll have someone go and scout the houses, see if there is anyone in them."_ Dwalin said, bowing and leaving the room, cracking his knuckles and stroking the handles of his axes, already craving bloodshed and battle. 

Grandfather slumped down in his throne. _"We cannot go in with a contingent of guards, if they see that then I believe they will kill Ariana. I will go in alone, with you watching. Dis get Oín and ready a cart, if she is hurt I don't want to move her from the place and I want her healed there. Frerin will go with them and pick another guard, Oín will need help to keep anyone away should we miss any."_ He said and we nodded, I left leaving them to the planning and hoping, praying that we got Ariana back in one piece with no injuries or we would lose grandfather to his sickness. I hurried down to Oín, startling him as I entered. _"Lady Dis, what can I do to help?"_ He asked and I told him what grandfather had said. 

He nodded and together we quickly managed to ready a cart full of any supplies that we would need. Oín had placed extra amounts of thread and poppy milk in the cart anticipating the amount of wound Ariana could have. I fidgeted with many of the things we had placed in the cart, wanting to do something with my hands. I paused when Frerin put his hand over mine, _"Peace sister, we will find her and we will get her back. If she is even scratched they will die."_ He said and I nodded, that was all well and good, but we first had to find her. It was then that I noticed the guard stood behind him, _"I'm sorry, I afraid I don’t know who you are?"_ I said to him.

He shifted out from behind Frerin and bowed shallowly to me, _"My name is Tristahal, my lady. I accompanied you on your trip to Dale when you are your father were attacked. I have grown fond of your sister and when Prince Frerin asked for a volunteer I immediately offered my services."_ I smiled over at him and nodded, helping Oín wheel the cart out into the entrance of the mountain. Adad stood beside Thorin, Fundin and Dwalin, _"My scout should be returning this evening and then we will know for certain where she is. I have arranged for a guard and Dwalin to be present with the cart at all times. We will be ready to go as soon as we have news."_ Fundin declared and we nodded, moving back into the mountain, although none of us could focus on anything. I quickly packed a pack of clothes for Ariana, she would possibly need clean ones for when we found her and then filled it with the three little eggs that Frerin had gotten her and the blades that had been gifted her, from Dwalin and the elves. For some reason feeling like this was important.

Thorin, Frerin and I all congregated in my chambers and sat in silence, each of us twitching and fidgeting in our own way. _"I should have done more. It's my fault they managed to take her."_ Frerin mumbled out and we turned to stare at him, _"Nadadith, don't be stupid. You did everything you could to keep her safe, it's clear that this had far more planning involved than just scaring us with a letter of ransom. They know that grandfather is falling to the sickness, they know that it will not take much to push him over. This is not your fault, Ariana is going to bite you if she hears you say that."_ Thorin spoke, his Khuzdul rumbling around the room. Even though I had heard many speak it, had grown up speaking it, Thorin's always seemed different, sounded different, less harsh and more like the rumbling of thunder as it echoed around the mountain.

I nodded and curled up beside Frerin. _"Thorin is right, regardless of if we had Ariana, they would have tried this, although I think it may have had the opposite effect to what they wanted, I think it may have brought grandfather out of the sickness slightly, at least until we get Ariana back."_ I murmured out and they nodded. That evening we did something that we had not done in many decades, we all slept piled into the same bed, curled around each other, a hand always on another sibling, making sure we were all still together. It didn't matter that we were all of age, we felt like dwarflings that night, scared of the monsters in the darkness. We only separated briefly the following morning to dress, before having a light breakfast with adad, barely able to stomach anything in our worry, but needing to be strong. 

Balin came in just as we were finishing up, _"Adad's scout is back, they've found her."_ He said, voice soft. We all stood and followed him down through the mountain, I kept touching the handle of the short sword I had strapped on this morning, my brothers acknowledging it but saying nothing. _"The scout said she is in a small room near the back of the third house from the mountain, she is the only one in the room, but they have not been kind to her. She is bruised and slightly injured, but alive."_ Fundin spoke and several growls and curses were heard from the assembled guards. It was amazing to see just how loved my sister was within the mountain, I doubted there was a single Longbeard that would harm her. 

Tristahal and Oín were waiting by the cart, Oín checking it over before we slowly moved out of the mountain and along the bottom of the walls of the valley, careful to keep out of sight of grandfather, adad, Thorin, Dwalin and Fundin as they rode across the plains towards the houses. I watched as the others slowed and Grandfather continued on alone. It wasn't until he was nearing the house that the other slowly moved forward. We waited two houses down as they entered the house after grandfather, we only moved forward when Ariana's scream pierced our ears and hearts. _"Now, she's hurt."_ Frerin whispered and we all ran towards the house, carefully with the cart. 

We had almost reached the front of the house when a dwarf and Dwalin crashed through the old wooden wall, Dwalin's axe quickly beheading him. _"Oín hurry, we don't have much time."_ He bellowed out and we ran inside, I gasped and clutched at Frerin's arm at the sight that greeted us. Ariana was lying on the floor, her head cradled in grandfathers lap as he spoke to her softly in Khuzdul, begging her to keep her eyes open and on him, the pool of blood beneath her growing quickly despite the furs adad and Thorin were pressing to her chest and back.

_"Oín, quickly. One of the bastards stabbed her through the chest when I refused to abdicate."_ Grandfather called out, tears welling in his eyes as I crouched down next to him. Oín quickly busied himself with looking at the wound on her chest. _"It goes all the way through yes, but I believe it has missed her heart and lungs, along with her other organs, thankfully. Help me turn her gently and we will look at her spine."_ He said and had us brace her to turn her over, humming and nodding when he saw that the blade had missed her spine. He then quickly set about sewing up each wound. It felt like days before he had finished and the puddle beneath us had grown considerably. We slowly moved her up onto the cart that the others had padded out with furs and blankets.

Oín turned to us as he finished settling Ariana slightly on her side so there was no pressure on her back wound. _"I have done all I can for her, her pulse is faint but strong, she is fighting to stay with us. We need to keep her fighting, until I am happy with how stable she is, she is staying here. I don't want to risk moving her too much. The internal stitching I've done will dissolve into her blood once she has healed, but if we move her now it will split and she will most likely die from blood-loss. The wound on her face is old and scabbed over nicely, I think that was from when she was kidnapped and her face hit the rock. It is slightly infected and I think they have made it worse over the last day than it originally was, so it will scar."_

As he spoke Frerin curled up near her head and began to stroke her hair, tears running down his face and I knew he was blaming himself. I moved silently and stood to the side of the cart and began to wash Ariana's hair with the water that her captures had left out, humming a melody that amad used to sing with us. Thorin came and stood next to me, _"I'll ride back to the mountain and bring you both some clothes and food for you all. Is there anything you want?"_ He asked turning to Tristahal and Oín, Oín nodded and requested a change of tunic and some more tonics from the healing rooms, but Tristahal shook his head. Thorin nodded and they all rode out, each member of the family kissing Ariana on the head before leaving. 

It was well after dusk by the time Thorin returned, with enough food and water to last us a few days and a bundle of clothes for myself and Frerin to replace the blood covered ones we were in. I smiled as I saw the tunic and breeches he had brought me. _"You may have to fight namanith. I would rather you could do it without getting your dress tangled around your knees."_ He said in jest and Tristahal chuckled slightly, before moving out to check the perimeter around the house. _"Nadadugmil?"_ I said softly and he wrapped his arms around me, _"He's gotten so much worse. He rode back in with us, changed his clothes and then went down into the treasury to make sure none of it was missing. It was like he hadn't even spent the morning trying to keep Ariana alive. When I left he was staring up at the Arkenstone and muttering in ancient Khuzdul again, I caught 'precious gem' and 'all I need' out of what he said. I fear we have truly lost him to the sickness now."_ Thorin murmured out and I flinched, a sob rising in my throat. 

Frerin growled from his position by Ariana's head, his hand just in front of her mouth, almost like he was constantly checking she was breathing, _"Is that truly how little she means to him, we mean to him now? I hate this curse on our family."_ He spat out and we moved over to him, mindful of Ariana, hugging him tightly. _"I am staying out here for the night on adad's orders, we don't need to have another injured royal. Adad thinks that we have gotten rid of the whole group of them, but another set of eyes overnight doesn't hurt."_ I nodded and he and Frerin went to talk to Tristahal about a watch system. Oín approached me then, _"I am sorry my dear, your grandfather was strong to hold off this long in his life before the sickness took him. Many succumb before they are 200. He could have chosen a better time mind you."_ I giggled wetly at Oín's joke, knowing that it was either laugh or cry and I felt like there had been enough crying today. 

Over the next three days we constantly monitored Ariana, Oín and I sleeping in shifts throughout the day so there was always one person awake with Ariana and Frerin, Tristahal and whoever had come over from the mountain, taking the guard duties. During the day, Dwalin or Thorin would come over with another three guards and insist that Frerin and Tristahal got some sleep, before one of them would stay over night to help with the watch. Adad wanted to come over, but someone had to run the mountain now that grandfather wasn't. It was mid morning, after Dwalin had left early on the fourth day that everything changed for us. We were all sat around the little room the cart sat in, eating a light broth that had been brought across the day before, wondering when the next set of guards were coming over, when the noise outside the house changed. 

Tristahal, Frerin and I stood and looked out of the window of the house, curious as to what was happening. The noise was so foreign, almost like the wind had decided that it was suddenly going to become a hurricane. We stared out the window as a huge drake appeared from the north, flying over the little house we were in and heading straight for Dale. Frerin tugged me into his chest and I clutched at his arms as the horns and screams mixed together with the beat of the dragons wings and the crashing of the buildings. It turned once it had destroyed a good portion of Dale and headed straight for the mountain. I whimpered as it sent a burst of fire against the battlements, turning my head into Frerin's chest as I heard the rumble of the front gates being destroyed. 

Tristahal fidgeted and I reached out and grasped his hand, his wife and children were in the mountain as well as all our family. Oín appeared behind us and placed an arm around the three of us. _"Mahal save us."_ He whispered and we all watched as dwarves came streaming out of the mountain. _"Go, go and find your family. Help who you can. We will be fine."_ I told Tristahal and he nodded, walking over to Ariana where she lay on the cart and brushed a hand over her head. _"Be well Princess, I will see you again."_ He whispered and then left running down the side of the hill and towards the dwarves and men that streamed away from the desolation the drake had caused. 

Ariana whimpered as we slowly wheeled the cart out of the house and when we paused Frerin pointed at something up on the hill behind us. There stood the Elfking and his army, I watched as he studied the desolation before him, before bowing his head and turning away. _"He abandoned us."_ Frerin murmured. _"No, he's ancient Frerin. He of all people probably knows the difficulty in killing a drake. Elves don't die often Frerin, he's not going to risk his people on a battle that he will most likely lose."_ I snapped out and Frerin nodded, _"Fair enough he doesn't have to fight the dragon, but he's not even going to help us?"_ I frowned at Frerins words.

The Elfking had become fond of Ariana and normally sent her a few letters a month, although they were mostly just to test her Sindarin, she said. He hadn't stayed to check she was amongst the living, he hadn't stayed to help any of the men of Dale, who he had far better relations with than us. I frowned, _"Elves are strange brother. Come lets get Ariana out of here and find our family." I said and we slowly moved the cart down the hill. Thorin was growling darkly, but his face broke into a relieved smile as he saw us and ran over, part of his left side singed, but whole. Adad and grandfather trailed behind him, with Dwalin, Fundin, Balin, Gloín and his wife behind them. I looked to the side and saw Tristahal walking towards us clutching his children and wife to him._

_Thorin scooped me up in a hug before I could say anything, wrapping an arm around Frerin as well. _"I thought you had been taken as well when I saw the smoke rising from over here and the dragon flying directly over you."_ He murmured into the embrace. I shook my head. _"We were lucky." I said as I lifted my head and was embraced by adad, _"Where do we go now?"_ Frerin asked and grandfather looked at him, _"We will make for the Greenwood and see if we can't get supplies from them, then we will head for Ered Luin. The clans there have long been allies of our line, hopefully we will be welcome there. But before that we need to get through the wood."_ Grandfather said, his gaze cloudy with gold sickness, but not as it had been.__

__Thorin came and walked beside me for a time as adad and grandfather walked ahead of us, talking together wildly, almost to the point of arguing. I looked at Thorin and nodded my head at them and he sighed, _"I was the one to pull grandfather out of the mountain. While we were trying to fight the dragon, he was grabbing the Arkenstone and running towards the treasury. He had just made it there when that blasted worm leaped into the gold from above. He tripped and the Arkenstone fell into the hoard. I had to pull him away to get him out of the mountain and even then he was muttering about going back, needing to go back for the fucking rock."_ Thorin spat out quietly and I stared over at grandfather. The gold sickness was something I truly wished had never touched our family, that many I called kin would choose a rock over flesh and blood made me shudder. _ _

__We made our way slowly towards the Greenwood, Ariana becoming increasingly more feverish the further away from the mountain we got. Oín and Balin tried everything they could to lower the fever, but it didn't matter what we did it just seemed to rage hotter. As we neared the Greenwood I prayed to every and any god that Thranduil would put aside past feuds to help my sister, she needed medicines that we just didn't have on us, that he could ignore every slight and just help her. I prayed that his fondness for her would outweigh his dislike for us._ _

__I sat up in the cart and placed cool wet rag after cool wet rag over her forehead, humming softly lullabies that amad used to sing us when we were sick, just trying to comfort her. We all sighed somewhat in relief as the Greenwood came closer, maybe now we could get Ariana the help she had been denied, maybe now we could be assured that she would live. Maybe, just maybe, we all hoped, everything would be right again._ _


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.
> 
> Mizimith - Little jewel
> 
> Khuzdith - Little one
> 
> Nadadugmil - Older brother (previous chapter)
> 
> Assume all speech is in Khuzdul in this Chapter (I'm too lazy to go through and make it all italics ;) )
> 
> I think I've included all the other translations, if I haven't then please let me know. Thank you to everyone who is commenting and leaving Kudos. :)
> 
> Thrór POV

We had barely been in Ered Luin for a year when I had decided that it was a good idea to reclaim our lost homeland of Moria. It was rich in gems, mithril and other minerals that could help us survive. The only problems was that it was infested with orcs and goblins. This battle would likely be suicide for many of the line Durin and our Longbeard clan, we were weak and few in numbers, so many of us had either perished in the dragonfire or settled along the road. We had the support of the other clans in Ered Luin and the Blue Mountains, but this battle would be costly.

I was just thankful that my family had made it out of the mountain, most of us in one piece. Although I was ashamed of the way I had behaved before and slightly after the mountain had been taken, I don't think my grandchildren had completely forgiven me, well one had purely because she didn't really know the truth yet. I turned my head and watched Ariana, my youngest and most beloved grandchild sleep soundly across the room from me. It had been a minor miracle that she had survived the kidnapping and wounds at the base of the mountain, the dragon and then the fever that had consumed her within hours of leaving our home. She had woken after seven agonising days briefly, before falling unconscious again for another seven days. 

After those fourteen days, she had slowly begun to heal and it was only just before we managed to reach Ered Luin that she had found the strength to sit up for small periods of time. She had spent her ninth birthday on the road and we had no presents to give her, nor grand cakes and she had simply smiled and said that she had never needed gifts in the first place, that all she wanted was a family she could say was hers. Needless to say she had made a few cry at that. We had just celebrated her tenth birthday the previous week, there was a small cake that we had managed to get and Thorin and Frerin had worked together to make her another, slightly larger sword and Dwalin had worked with Thrain to make her two throwing axes. She had been delighted by that, but had again said that she didn't need the gifts, although she loved them. 

I turned at a sound and saw Thorin walked past the doorway and head down from the room he shared with Frerin and Thrain. The house we were in was small, but it was functioning. I sighed, knowing without seeing Thorin's face that it would be set in a heavy scowl. He had been the one to see me at my worst those last few days in the mountain and he had seen me in my shame after the dragon had arrived. I would be surprised if he ever truly forgave me for what I had done. I hoped that my bout of sickness did not make him fear taking the throne when it was his, I also hoped that in seeing me like that he knew better than to be entranced the way I was.

After we had fled the mountain and begun our journey to Ered Luin, we had turned to the Elves for help, even though they had abandoned us at Erebor. Once I was clear of the gold sicknesses influence, I had understood why Thranduil hadn't risked his kin, truthfully I wouldn't have either. Dragons were difficult beasts to kill. However, when we had entered the Greenwood and asked for aid, he had turned us away and refused. I had seen him freeze when Thorin had asked for something to ease Ariana's fever and I thought we would at least have gotten something from him, but he had ignored us. That would break Ariana's heart to know, as she had come to adore the Elfking and his kin. 

I sighed and rubbed my temple, I had forbidden any of them from mentioning it to Ariana, she would break if she knew we had been abandoned, that she had been abandoned. She stirred in her sleep and turned over, cracking her eyes open slightly, smiling softly when she caught sight of me sat in the candlelight. "I am going downstairs briefly, khuzdith. I will return soon." She nodded and settled in to sleep again, her body still had moments of weakness, her legs still healing slowly. Oín assumed that it was possible the blade had minutely caught her spine and affected her limbs as she was still so weak in her walking.

I watched her a little while longer, making sure she was truly asleep before heading down the stairs. Dis was curled up between her new husband Vilí and Thrain. I was glad that at least one good thing had come out of leaving our home, I had never seen Dis as happy as the day she began courting with Vilí and I knew that she had found her one, that he would treat her well and love her over all else. Frerin was sat next to Thorin on the arm of his chair. I sighed and sat down in the remaining chair, suddenly feeling every one of my 322 years. "Adad?" Thrain asked from across the room. 

I looked up at them, this conversation was going to be difficult, I thought before addressing Vilí, "You will protect my granddaughter for me? Give her somewhere safe to call home?" I asked him and he nodded, tightening his arm around Dis. "Grandfather?" She asked and I smiled over at her. "I will not ask your husband to come on this campaign, he is needed here. He knows the people, the way the mountains work. He will help you and Frerin -" I stopped as Frerin jumped to his feet, "Excuse me? I am coming with you." He said loudly and I stood, shaking my head. "Thorin is coming and Thrain, they are directly in line for the throne. Fundin, Dwalin and Balin are also coming. Who am I going to leave Ariana with then if you come? I know that Dis can look after her, but I would feel better and have a clearer head in battle knowing that another of my kin is watching her." I paused and let him process what I was saying. 

I sighed, "Frerin, I am very aware at your skills with a blade and axe, you are capable in battle. I know this, but your brother must come with us as the eldest. Dis is capable of defending herself, but not in the way you can. Ariana is weak, still healing. She is a target because of me. I need you to protect her, she will probably not understand right away why we are doing this, she is young. I cannot stand for her to lose everything apart from Dis if we fail." I told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder as understanding dawned in his eyes. If he went Ariana and Dis would lose everyone, but each other. He nodded, "I do not like this, but I will do it." I squeezed his shoulder.

Thorin stood and approached me, "If we win back Moria, if we can get a foothold in a mountain nearer to Erebor, I want you to promise that you let Ariana train to fight, she is already skilled with her daggers and a small sword, but I want to train her beyond that. I want her a force to be reckoned with." He said and I nodded, "Even if we don't get Moria back, you can train her. In fact as soon as she is cleared by the healers, Frerin can start to train her. Make her into a proud dwarven warrior. I just wish we were still in Erebor." I sighed, thinking back to the present I had made for her. 

Thrain cleared his throat as we all sat back down, "And why is that adad? You sound like it is more that just because we would be in our home." I nodded, "I had made Ariana a gift, one that she would not be able to use until she had grown to her full height. I made her a blade similar to the one I wield, but with styles from all our swords." I told them, finally telling them part of the reason I had spent so much time down in the forge, the other part of the present was a secret that would now never be discovered. We all froze at the scrape of feet on the stairs and turned as Ariana slowly walked down them, her face pale as she clung to the railing. Her eyes swung around the room until they landed on Frerin. 

She stumbled across the room, throwing herself at him, shaking and began to cry. Frerin looked around at us worriedly, before stroking a hand down her hair, the thick braid Thorin had done, starting to unwind. "Shh sweetling, what's wrong?" He said softly, sinking to the floor with her and rocking her slightly. She curled her thin arms around him, "You died. I saw it, there were these monsters and they … they cut you in to pieces, laughing as you screamed. Then one cut off your head and shook it at me. Don't leave me Frer'." She pleaded, her voice breaking as her tears became more violent. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, "I am never going to leave you Ariana, never. You will always have me." He told her and she looked up at him, watching his eyes. She nodded, curling her hands into his braids. I frowned at the scar that curved around her left eye, it didn't really detract from her beauty, but it shouldn't have been there. 

The filthy Ironfist swine that had tried to take her from me should be glad they were already in Mahal's halls for I would gladly tear them apart again, just to never see that scar on her face. She had noticed one day on the journey when we were helping her bathe in a river, she had looked at it closely and we had all held our breath, fearing her reaction. Instead of tears, she had shrugged and carried on weakly washing her face. When asked why she hadn't cared about it, she had smiled and said "I am already scarred, what's one more?" Dis had turned away crying at that and Ariana had apologised so many times for making her cry. Ariana had never mentioned it again, but we were all aware now of what she thought of her scars.

I focused back on the scene in front of me and found that she had fallen asleep again, curled up in Frerin's arms, with her hands fisted tightly into his braids. She looked so innocent as she slept, so young and I sighed heavily. "Adad? What's wrong?" Thrain asked and I nodded down at Ariana. " I wish that this had not happened to her. I would even gladly give her to the elves if it meant she had a stable and safe childhood. We are limited in offering her that now." I said, not in the least because we were going to go away to war soon. "Where I can I will help you give her the life she deserves. I know that it is a great adjustment for you all to go from Erebor to here, but I can help you still find a way to do everything she loves, just here." Vilí spoke up and I smiled over at him, nodding my thanks. "When will we be leaving adad?" Thrain asked and I sighed, "Two weeks, maybe just under."

I spent the next two weeks arranging everything with the dwarrows willing to come to battle with us, many were Longbeards and the rest were simply those that wished to have a chance to have a better life if we won. I watched as my grandchildren spent more and more time together, Ariana practically clinging to Thorin whenever he left the house and when she couldn't find him, she was generally with Dwalin and Balin. It broke my heart that I would have to tear her away from them, that I would have to take them away and not be able to say that they would come back to her. 

I spent most of the evening sat in silence as I watched Thorin and Frerin tell stories to Ariana and Dis. I watched Thrain speak openly to his children about their amad and I watched as my family grew tighter together than they were before and it made me question what I was doing, was I really willing to tear this all apart over a mountain If it did not reflect poorly on my family, on my line, I would suggest that they all stayed here and let me march off to battle. I was old, I had wronged them greatly and if I died they would still have each other, but I knew that my son and grandson were just as stubborn as I was and would not back away from a fight, especially not if it meant that we could win back a homeland. 

Not one of us mentioned how Ariana seemed to know there was something big about to happen, that she seemed to subconsciously know that many of us were leaving. We just indulged her need to be constantly around us, I had the feeling that they were all waiting for me to broach the subject with her, but I was also dreading it. How could I look down into the face of a child I had promised to keep safe and happy and break her heart, tell her that I was taking away so many people that she cared about and not promise if they would return to her. 

It soon became the last night left before we marched and I knew that I would have to tell her tonight, that I would have to prepare her as best I could. I slowly made my way back to our house after the final meeting with those that would march with me tomorrow. I delayed as long as I could before moving into the house, finding Thrain with all my grandchildren there, along with Fundin and his sons and Vilí. Ariana was curled up in between Balin and Dwalin listening as they told her a story, clearly about them as dwarflings. Thrain was watching all his children, his eyes slightly glassy and I realised that I was hurting him more than he let on. 

Ariana glanced up as I walked in and smiled widely over at me, although it dimmed as I struggled to return it. "Mizimith, may I talk to you up stairs?" I asked her and everyone's eyes rested on me as she nodded and walked up the stairs before me, her steps slightly quicker than they had been two weeks ago. I watched as she curled up on her bed, drawing her arms around her knees and watching me with her bright eyes. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked and I froze, before shaking my head strongly. "No, you could never do anything wrong mizimith. I just have something to tell you." I said wondering how to break it to her. "We are going to battle, your father, Thorin, Dwalin, Balin and I."

"Achrâchi gabilu, givashel. Zu lukhudûn." I watched as Ariana stared at me as I spoke, the words translating in my mind and in hers. I am sorry, treasure of all treasures. You are my light. "No." She told me, understanding that I was saying goodbye; saying it like I meant not to come back. I looked over at her sadly before sitting down heavily onto my bed. "Yes my darling girl, you must accept this, it is highly likely that not all of us will return from this battle. I want you to remember a few things though. Fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly. Fear can make you kind. Be who you are, not who the world wants you to be. Actions prove who someone is, words just prove who they want to be. And most importantly the thing I want you to remember most is that you are loved, beyond everything. I am forever thankful that you came into our lives that day. You gave me more time with you all." I told her pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

She simply shook her head, "Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting. I don't ever want to forget you, or adad or Thorin or Balin and Dwalin. I have a true family for the first time in my life and I feel so lucky." Her words caused my eyes to tears, she spoke like we had given her the world and I supposed to a child who had lived like she had before she had arrived at our gates we had. She clambered up onto the bed and curled up into my lap. "I know there are reason's you are leaving, I don't want to hear them. I trust you would not leave unless you had to, but please be careful." She asked me and I sighed. "I will try my little treasure, but I cannot promise you. Battle is unpredictable and we truly don't know the numbers of our enemy." 

She looked up at me and twisted around the token she had given me all those years ago, "Here little one, keep this with you, for if I can I promise to return for this. This is now my most treasured possession, because it was made by you. Keep it and know that I will be fighting to come back to you for it." I told her and she began to cry. I wiped away her tears and shushed her, rocking her slightly. "I have to go tomorrow, we need to claim back our home. If we can win back Moria then we are closer to winning back Erebor. I will be closer to giving you a home." I told her as I rocked her, jumping slightly when she pulled sharply on my beard.

"I have lived without a roof over my head before, I have lived in places that should have been a home, but weren't. And that was because the people in the house weren't home. Buildings, mountains and such aren't home to me, people are home to me. If you stay then I will have a home, just as much as I would if we had the mountain back." She told me and I blinked at her, such wisdom from someone so young made my heart hurt and my fingers itch to behead the ones who had made her learn such wisdom. I sighed, nodding my head and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I know this is how you feel, but for us as a race a home is also the roof over your head. I am sorry that you have learnt to feel differently." I told her hugging her close.

We sat in silence for a little while longer before we moved back downstairs to find the room silent and everyone looking at us. Ariana darted over and sat between Thorin and Thrain and clutched both their hands, "I won't make you promise to come back, any of you, but I want you all to try. I need you to try and come back to me, because I don't know what I will do if I lose you all. I know that I will still have Frerin and Dis and Vilí, but I need the rest of you as well. Gajum ma serêj, please don't leave me, not for good. I didn't fight to stay alive to lose you so soon afterwards." She said and Thorin wrapped and arm around her, tugging her close to his chest, Thrain keeping a tight grip on her hand. 

Dwalin and Balin came and knelt in front of her and grasped her free hand and arm, "I am sure your grandfather has said the same thing, that he cannot promise to return, but like him and like you wish we will fight with every breath in us to come back to you. To lose everything is a terrible thing and not something we would wish on someone so young." Balin said and Ariana smiled down at him. "Aye, we will all fight to come back. Balin and I will make sure you have at least Thorin to come back." Dwalin added gruffly and Ariana, frowned but nodded. The talk turned to general topic's after that, discussing things that would not cause any distress to anyone, things that eased some of the tension in the room.

I sighed as that night our living area was transformed into a giant pile of sleeping dwarrows, Thrain, Fundin and I stood at the side of the room watching as all of them curled up in a heap as if they were all dwarflings who had had a nightmare. Ariana was curled up in the middle of the pile, Thorin's chest her pillow and Dis and Frerin on either side of her, Vilí behind Dis and Dwalin and Balin curled up near her feet, I looked closer and found that Ariana's feet were actually wrapped up in Dwalin's tunic. Frerin had complained for all of a breath that his face was too near his brothers crotch for his liking before shutting up and dealing with it, I think realising that he could lose Thorin to this battle. 

I nodded my head to the boys as I climbed the stairs, old and weary in a way I hadn't felt before. I kicked off my boots and just sat on my bed, letting my head rest in my hands. I was truly destroying my family. I looked up as a weight settled next to me, "Adad, you aren't making us do something we don't want to do. Thorin and I are prepared for this. The others are just as tough and Ariana understands as best she can, that being said I'm sure she will kill us again in Mahal's halls if we die, but she understands why we can't say we will come back." I looked up at Thrain and nodded, "I know, but I still can't help but feel that I am doing wrong in taking you all with me." I said clasping his arm in my hand. Thrain patted my hand and looked at me, studying my face. "We are old enough adad, we have lived well. If by dying we get to let them live well and perhaps a little safer then that is worth dying for." He said standing and walking out of the room.

I slept poorly that night, waking often in cold sweats, images of Thorin and Thrain dying in front of me. I moved down stairs as quietly as I could in the early morning light to find the pile of dwarves awake, Balin and Dwalin already gone to get ready to leave. Ariana was sat in Thrain's lap, braiding his beard and fastening the clasp that Dris had forged him at the base. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rested his brow against hers, breathing her in as she stroked her hands through his unbraided beard. Thorin walked down behind me and he looked regal in the little armour we had. I would dearly have loved to have had him at least in mail of mithril, but again we were not in Erebor.

Breakfast was a nearly silent affair, Ariana barely speaking only signing for things she needed. All too soon it was time for us to meet with the assembled dwarrows that were marching with us. Ariana clutched Thorin and my hands tightly, walking along with her head held high and a barely noticeable limp. When we reached the head of the contingent I bent down and hugged her tightly. "Remember mizimith, I will be back for that token." I whispered and she nodded, pressing a kiss to my forehead, before turning to hug Thrain, then Thorin and finally Dwalin and Balin. 

Frerin then lifted her up into his arms and hugged her to him tightly, all three of my grandchildren had tears in their eyes, but were proudly watching as we turned and walked away from home and towards the mines that should be home, but were overrun with filth. I turned back to find the dwarf that had journeyed with Oín, Dis and Frerin to save Ariana was stood a little way behind her. "I asked him to stay back. He adores Ariana and will protect her with his life. Between him and Frerin she will be well protected." Thrain murmured, easing my heart just a little. "As long as she is safe, I am happy." I murmured back and we soon settled into the rhythm of the familiar battle march.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise :(
> 
> I normally don't write chapter this long, but I needed to fit a lot in it.  
> And just to really confuse you the italics at the end is English! All other speech is this chapter is Khuzdul, it's just easier to put the English in Italics.  
> Letters are in bold.
> 
> Ariana POV

I fidgeted on the scratchy wooden table that the healer had plonked me up on, I mean, I know that I am shorter than most dwarf children and that my legs haven't been working right, but I can climb. My legs had been getting better in the month since everyone had left. I huffed at the stupid dwarf that was puttering around the room, muttering about something that had nothing to do with making sure my legs were working, clearly Dis thought so too. "Can we actually perform my sister's examination today or are you going to continue stalling? I would hate to have to look for another healer." She snapped out and I tried hard to stop smirking, Dis could be so mean when she wanted to be.

The healer then spent too long huffing and puffing and prodding me in the back to try and see if my back was healed properly. I looked at Dis and rolled my eyes, causing her to nod and smirk. He then suddenly all but threw me off the table and I stumbled, spinning around to face him and reached for the little dagger I had tucked away. "Excuse me? What did you hope to achieve from that?" Dis snarled and I stared at him, this was how healers treated their patients here? 

The healer huffed, "There is nothing wrong with her, stop wasting my time and get out." He snapped and Dis sneered over at him, I shook my head, only an idiot would anger my sister. I tugged on Dis' hand and we walked out of his house and back to the one I now shared with Frerin, Dis was grumbling all the way back and I shook my head, looking around the new mountain, my back twinging a little where I had been thrown around, but it wasn't bad enough that I would tell Dis. She slammed open the door and Vilí and Frerin looked around. "Umzam? Is everything alright?" Vilí asked and Dis shook her head, sitting down on the small couch next to him and curling up under his arm. 

I ran towards Frerin and hugged him around the waist, my head only just reaching up to his chest. I huffed a little, wishing I could be a little taller, vaguely hearing Dis retelling our trip to the healers. "Asshole, he's lucky you went with Ariana and not me. On the bright side though, now I can train you when I have time." Frerin said, looking down at me and I smiled up at him. I really wanted to be able to use the axe's that adad and Dwalin had given me for my birthday. Frerin smoothed a hand down my hair, "I think we could train in the small courtyard between our house and Tristahal's behind. That way no one can see you and they can't distract us." He said and I nodded, knowing that it would either be before or after he finished work.

I helped Frerin cook the dinner that night, watching him to make sure he didn't burn the food, although he was nowhere as near as bad as Thorin when he cooked. I smiled faintly, remembering when we had first arrived at the mountain and Thorin had been looking after me while everyone else was out around the mountain trying to get the things we needed to live. He had been told repeatedly by Dis how to warm up the broth she had made me and yet he still managed to burn it to the bottom of the pot, giving it a slightly funny, burnt taste. Dis had boxed his ears for that, as it could have made me sick, but it hadn't so I forgave him.

When Dis and Vilí had left after dinner, Frerin curled up on the couch and I sat next to him, curled up against his side and listened to him tell me stories until I fell asleep and he carried me upstairs. After the first week, Frerin had given up on having his own room again when I had begun to have nightmares that would make me wake up screaming and panicking and trying to find grandfather or adad or Thorin. Frerin had pushed the two beds together and we curled up like that, having someone near me making the nightmares happen less often. 

When I woke up the next morning, Tristahal's wife Britta and Dis were already sat downstairs in the kitchen, talking over a cup of tea. I waved as I moved to the table, trying to tug my hair into some kind of braid. Dis chuckled and waved me over, "Honestly, you're getting as bad as Thorin with your mane of hair. He's never been very good at braiding his own hair, other's no problem, but his own didn't stand a chance." She teased and I stuck my tongue out. I didn't mind that she was teasing me, because it meant that she wasn't worrying about the other's so much today, I hated it when she had that sad look on her face. 

Britta placed a small bowl of food in front of me and I quickly ate it, for some reason incredibly hungry. I watched as Dis and Britta pottered around the house tidying up, before Britta left for the small textile shop that had employed her and Dis left for the forge. "Remember, don't leave the house, if you do have to for some reason, don't go far. I don't know what we would do if we lost you now." She said to me as she left, hugging me tightly. I nodded my head, knowing that she was just worried about me, but I had survived before living on unfamiliar streets, I could do it here. 

I waited a little while before shrugging on a thin dark grey fur coat that wouldn't draw attention to me and walking out of the door. I wondered down towards the market area of Ered Luin, Thorin having brought me down here a few times to get some necessary things. I wandered in and out of the crowds before pausing at something down a side alley. There was a group of large dwarflings who were pushing around a smaller one, laughing and teasing him. I couldn't see anyone looking for him so I crept closer, keeping out of their eyesight for the moment. 

The largest of the group shoved the little one hard, causing him to fall down. "Aww look at the widdle baby. Looks like your thief brother isn't around to save you." He said, kicking dirt at the little one, making him wince as a stone caught his face. I frowned and reached for the daggers that were tucked into my boot and the hem of my coat. I walked up behind the bigger one and dug the point of one into his back, the other just touching his scruff where his beard was starting to grow. "I suggest you leave him alone, you wouldn't want to anger the wrong people now would you." I said, deliberately lowering my voice. 

The boys turned to look at me before backing away, leaving their leader with me. "Leave him alone now or I'll make sure you get what's coming to you." I hissed in his ear and he nodded, bolting as soon as I moved my daggers. I tucked them away and turned to face the little one on the floor. "Hello. I'm Ariana, what's your name?" I asked him and he sniffled a little before answering. "Ori, Thank you for helping me." I smiled down at him and reached down to help him up, "Come on I'll help you home." I told him, noticing how stiff he was and the little cut that the stone had caused above his eye. 

He nodded and I walked along with him, going slightly further down the market place than I had with Thorin, before ducking down a side alley and coming to a small warmly lit house behind a big textile shop. "Ori? Is that you? You said you weren't going far." A frazzled voice came from inside and Ori tucked in closer to me, I squeezed his hand softly and pushed the door open to find a older dwarf with dark hair, just starting to turn silver in places, braided in a complicated style. He turned at the sound of the door opening and saw the pair of us. "Ori? Nori get down here! I know you're upstairs." He yelled out as he came towards us.

He went to tug Ori further into the house, but Ori wouldn't let go of my hand. "It's alright your friend can come in, I just want you away from the door." The older dwarf murmured and we were moved to sit in front of the fire. It was then that I noticed another dwarf slide in through the door and over to us. "Thank you, one of my friends saw what you did, you shouldn't have done that." He said to me and I frowned over at him, "And why not? I would hope that most people would stick up for a dwarfling who is being bullied." I snapped out and he nodded, but still frowned at me. "Yes, but not everyone is you now are they, Princess." He replied and I felt Ori and the other dwarf freeze and look at me. 

I sighed, climbing to my feet and bowing to them, "Ariana at your service and don't you dare bow to me. I don't like it." I told them and the older two of them, nodded, but still bowed their heads, "I'm Dori and this is my younger brother Nori, I'm sure that Ori has already told you his name. I want to thank you for what you did for Ori, you shouldn't have taken the risk Princess, I understand you've only just finished healing." Dori said and I sighed, but nodded. "Yes, the healer gave me the all clear yesterday. Please don't call me Princess, I wasn't born as one and I don't really like it." I told them. 

They nodded and I sat down with Ori as Dori cleaned out his braids and the little cut on his head. "Your Khuzdul is rather good for someone who didn't grow up speaking it." Nori said and I shrugged, "Thorin taught me, he said the same thing as I learnt it so quickly. I don't know what it is, I learn really quickly and I just remember it all. I like to learn, it keeps my mind busy, especially at the moment." I said and they nodded, understanding my meaning. Dori fussed around for a little while longer, before turning to the stew he had been making. "Would you like some Ariana?" Ori asked and I smiled shaking my head. "No thank you, I ate just before I found Ori. Please eat though, I don't mind watching." I told them smiling.

I watched as Dori set the bowls on to the table and I saw that Ori's had far more in it than either bowl and Nori's had more in than Dori's. I smiled over at Ori as he fiddled with a sketch book and I tilted my head to the side. "Do you draw?" I asked and he nodded sliding it over to me and I paused until he nodded. I flicked through the sketch book and although they weren't as good as some of the ones I had seen Balin do, they were still very good for a dwarfling who was so small. "These are very good, is this an elf?" I asked studying the drawing that was half finished. 

Ori nodded, "I had just started drawing that when the attack on the mountain happened, we lived near the door so we got out easily compared to some of the others." He murmured and I frowned, "I'd been kidnapped and badly injured, I wasn't even awake or in the mountain when the attack happened. I don't really remember much from after either, not until we had rounded the Greenwood and were heading towards the Misty Mountains." I said tilting my head and studying the picture. Ori handed me a charcoal piece, "You saw the elves closer than I did would you be able to do the face?" I looked at him and nodded, "I can try, I can't promise it will be as good as yours." I told him as I softly sketched out the outline of Legolas' face. 

Nori scoffed and Dori frowned at the sound. "Don't see why you're so enamoured with the pointy-eared backstabbers." He muttered and I turned to look at him, tilting my head to the side. He noticed my gaze and sighed, "It was while you were unconscious, we had journeyed through the wood, looking for aid. Their king came out to meet us and when King Thrór asked for aid he said he wouldn't give it. The strange thing is when Thorin said something to him, he paused and from I was it looked like he was going to do it, but he shook his head and walked away. I willing to bet that your brother asked for aid for you, we had all heard and seen the fever you were travelling with." Nori murmured and I looked over at him. 

I placed the charcoal on the table and thought about it for a minute, "This is what they wouldn't tell me? Why Thorin always scowled when there was even the faintest mention of elves?" I said almost to myself. "You didn't know? Nori why did you have to go and tell her, it's absolutely none of our business." I smiled and raised a hand, showing happiness where I was feeling so sad inside. "Peace Mister Dori, I don't mind. I'm glad that someone isn't treating me like I'm dying still." I told him and he huffed. Nori finished his bowl and stood abruptly. "I think we should be getting the little Princess home, the miners kick out for lunch soon." I froze at the thought of Frerin and Dis turning up at the house to find me not there. 

I nodded and stood quickly, smiling over at Dori and Ori, "Thank you for not overreacting when you found out who I was, even after all this time I'm not really used to being a princess. Good day to you both." I said politely and they murmured it back as Nori led me out into the alleyway and back into the street, I watched as his eyes took in everything, especially the richer nobles that were milling around the edge of the street, sneering at any that walked past them. I scrunched my nose up, but carried on walking beside Nori. It wasn't until we walked past a particularly rude noble that I quickly flicked my hand out and snatched the small coin purse that she had hanging from her belt, made to look like a small leather pouch for jewellery purchases. 

We walked on a little further down and Nori chuckled at me, "That was good, very smooth. You looked just a second too long though. But you are good, a little more training will make you better and if you really practice you could even be as good as me." He teased and I smiled over at him, shaking the coins out of the purse and handing them to him, "For Ori and you all. I don't need them." I told him, quickly throwing the pouch away. He stared at them and then at me, "You're not a very good grifter if you give away what you've grifted." He chided me and I smirked up at him. "I've only ever stolen what I need to live, I don't need those coins right now, but your family does. So take them." I told him and he nodded, "Fine, can you find your way home from here?" He asked and I nodded, waving to him as I walked away. 

I got home and managed to hang up my coat, get a book and sit curled up in one of the armchairs before Frerin came home and Dis and Vilí just after him. I smiled over at them and waved, Dis moved into the kitchen and got us some dried meat, bread and cheese for lunch. I smiled and ate what she had given me, listening to the flow of conversation around me, not really paying much attention to it all. Frerin cleared his throat after eating, "We'll start doing some more training later, I shouldn't be back too late." He said and I nodded, smiling over at him. 

Dis smiled as well, "Vilí and I won't be over later, we want to just have some time to ourselves. While you're training Ariana is the perfect time." She said and I nodded, waving at them all as they left to go back to work. I sat curled up in the chair, reading some of the book that I started just before they walked in. It was some time later that I heard the door open and realised that Frerin was already back. "Spend all afternoon reading, namanith?" He asked and I shrugged and nodded. "Isn't anything else to do." I told him and he raised an eyebrow, "What you mean like going out of the house wandering the markets? Or like being escorted back to the house in the presence of a known thief?" He asked and I flushed, looking away from him. 

I sighed and he was clearly waiting for an answer, "I can look after myself, not many people here know what I look like and I just wanted to get out of the house. I was in Nori's company as I saved his little brother from bullies and took him home, so he repaid the favour." I said, crossing my own arms and facing off against my brother. Frerin chuckled, "You don't have to defend yourself to me, I'm not Thorin or Dis. Yes I worried that you were out of the house, but I know that Dwalin has trained you and you always carry your daggers. That being said, just leave a note next time. Just in case. I have no worries about you spending time with the Ri brothers, especially little Ori. He may need some of your confidence." Frerin told me winking at me.

I smiled and he moved to the chest by the door, pulling out one of my axe's and his own one. My grin widened and I darted after him, leaving my book on the chair. We moved out to the small courtyard and I saw Tristahal and his son, Tristaven, waiting as well. "We both seemed to be of the same idea. 'Ven needs some training to even get as good as Ariana with a blade." Tristahal said and I giggled at the look on 'Ven's face. Frerin laughed and we paired off, Frerin teaching me much the same way as Dwalin had, by having me copy him. I moved through the steps aware of the eyes of Britta and the two younglings on me. I soon began to flow through the steps Frerin had taught me, not flinching too much when one of my blocks collided with his axe.

From there on he was 'attacking' me and I managed to block all his blows before turning them back towards him, making him work. Frerin called time a while later and I sighed, my back was starting to twinge again. "Time for dinner, namanith. How did you get so good?" He aksed and I smiled, "I was paying attention when I sat down at the training grounds, I wasn't just there to watch Dwalin beat up half the guards." I told him, causing the adults to laugh. He nodded and ushered me back into the house, waving goodbye to the others. 

My days progressed in similar manner for the next week. I would wake up and have breakfast with Dis and Britta, spend the morning with Ori and Dori and then head home for lunch. I would then sneak out and join Nori where ever he was within the mountain and he taught me his skills, teaching me to be better at picking pockets or using my dagger differently. He taught me a few different poisons that could be used and how to track someone efficiently without getting caught. 

It was early in the second week that I froze halfway through sitting in Dori's house with the three brothers. Nori caught on first, just standing near me as I watched the room fade and suddenly I was on a familiar, but not battlefield. I looked around and saw Thorin fighting. I blinked and I was staring at grandfather, watching as a monstrous pale creature attacked him, cutting off his head. I screamed and watched as adad tried to fight, but was soon lost from my sight. I blinked watching as Thorin fought back against the creature, cutting off its arm. I blinked again and I was back in the house with Ori hugging me tightly and Nori and Dori crouched at my feet.

It was only then that I realised that tears were streaming down my cheeks. "Mim Kaliâl, are you alright?" Nori asked me and I shook my head, "Grandfather is dead. I saw it, father is gone. I can't see him any more." I whispered. Dori wrapped an arm around me, "I am sure he will be fine." He whispered and I shook my head. "He's gone, he won't be back. Thorin will though, he will be coming back." I murmured and Nori squeezed my hand. "Do these episodes happen often Ariana? Do Frerin and Dis know about them?" He asked and I shook my head. He shooed Dori out of the way and pulled me up into a rare hug. 

I looked up at him, "It's time we get you back. I'll take you all the way back ok?" He said and I just nodded, to upset to really complain. I said goodbye to Dori and Ori, letting Nori lead me away from the house and back to my own. Frerin was already home when Nori opened the door and ushered me in, he turned at the sound of the door opening and frowned. "Namanith? What happened?" He demanded to know and I vaguely heard Nori telling him as I curled up in the chair grandfather used to sit in, clutching the little token around my neck. It was only as I heard the door close behind Nori that I began to sob.

Frerin tugged me into his arms, lifting me up and sitting down with me in his lap. He whispered nonsense into my hair, but I could hear his breath catching. I looked up and he was crying as well. I wiped away the tears on his face and he leant down, resting his head against mine. "You're sure that Thorin is ok? That he is coming back?" He asked and I nodded, "Thorin was still standing when the thing ended. I saw him win against the creature that killed grandfather." I murmured and he nodded, brushing his nose against mine. We both jumped as a raven cawed at the window. I darted up and over to it, taking the letter from it. 

**Namaniths, Nadadith.  
** **We have not won this battle. The orc numbers were too great. We have lost many, adad and grandfather included. Balin and Dwalin are well, but Fundin was among those lost to us. I am fine, a few light wounds, but whole. We will be marching back as soon as we have tended the injured that will make it. I hope this finds you all well.  
** **Thorin.**

I read it out loud and Frerin sighed, "That is good. No doubt it will be another month before they are back. We can only hope that they make it back safely after all that." I nodded and we both jumped again at the throat that cleared behind us, "Who get's back safely?" Dis asked and I just handed the letter over to her, wrapping my arms around Frerin, "Please don't tell her about what happened earlier, I don't want her to worry." I whispered and he nodded, frowning slightly. Dis choked on a sob and came over to us, Frerin wrapping us both up in a hug and I almost felt guilty, that I was mourning two dwarves I had only known for 3 years, where they had known them for 85 years and were related to them by blood. 

Suddenly I felt trapped and squirmed out of Frerin's hold and darting out the door, wrapping my fur coat around me tighter. I could hear Frerin shouting after me, but I had learnt from Nori, I ducked in and out of alleyways, darting up the side of houses and running along thin walkways that he had shown me. I ended up somewhere far from where I should have been, down in the poorest area of the mountain, near the mines. I sat down beside a boarded up toyshop and curled up on myself, letting the tears fall. I tried to stay silent, but I knew I had failed when I heard a cheerful voice call from the front of the shop. 

"Alright there little lass? Are ya lost?" It asked and I turned to find a dwarf wearing a funny hat, I looked over at him and shook my head. He walked over to me, "Ah your one of that Nori blokes tricksters. I've seen you with 'im a couple of times. Here he's just down the street. Come along." He said cheerfully, shepherding me down to where Nori's three-pointed hairstyle stood out. "Got your little one here Nori, found 'er down the side of my cousin's little shop. Have a good 'un." The dwarf said, slapping Nori on the back and walking away. Nori turned to me and clamped a hand on my arm, leading me away from the mines and back towards my house, hissing under his breath. "You are damn lucky that I hadn't gone far after taking you home. Your sister wants to have half the mountain out looking for you. What in Mahal's name were you thinking running off like that?" 

I shrugged his grip off and glared at him, "Last I checked I wasn't confined to an area within the mountain." I snapped out at him and he frowned at me, studying me. "You feel guilty about something. I don't know what, but I doubt you should be feeling guilty at all. If this is about earlier you need to stop. None of this was your fault at all." He told me and I shrugged, turning away from him and walking on. He sighed and walked alongside me. "You don't, if either of us is needing to feel guilty it's me. I'm teaching you grifting, spying, thieving and lying. If Dori knew he'd have my hide." He said and I turned to him, "You aren't teaching me anything I don't already know Nori, you're just tuning my skills."

I told him as I approached the house, he nodded and followed me to the door. Dis wrenched it open at Nori's knock and pulled me into a tight hug. "Don't you ever do that to me again, I don't think I could take it. Why did you run?" She asked and I looked down at the floor, "I don't know, I just felt trapped all of a sudden. I don't even know why. It wasn't the hug." I hurried to reassure them, I truly couldn't say why I had felt trapped, I just did. Dis nodded and pulled me further into the house. "Thank you so much for bringing her back, Nori." I heard Frerin say and Nori nodded, tilting his head to me and leaving. 

Frerin shut the door and tugged me into a tight hug, followed by Vilí. "Dis is right, unsurprisingly. Please don't run away like that again. Now let's all sit down and just have some dinner ok?" Frerin said and I flinched, realising I had been gone far longer than I had thought. Dis sat close to me through dinner and I bit my tongue, knowing it was my own fault for running away that she was crowding me. When she and Vilí left later, I moved over to the chest near the door, got out my short sword and one of my axe's and walked out to the courtyard. I heard Frerin follow me, but ignored him in favour of just going through the movements for each weapon that I had been taught, before slowly combining the two, until I was moving faster. 

Frerin cleared his throat and I stopped, blinking away the sweat that had started to drip down into my eyes. "I think that enough for this evening Ariana. Come inside now." He said and I flinched slightly at the tone of his voice. I moved inside and put the weapon's away, before moving up to the bedroom and washing up, changing into my nightshirt and curling up on my side of the bed. I listened as Frerin's footsteps sounded up the stairs, pausing in the doorway. "Good night, Ariana." He said, before continuing up the stairs to his room. I curled up tighter on myself and stuck a pillow over my head as I began to cry, I had truly ruined everything now.

I cried myself to sleep, eventually. Nightmares haunted me, of grandfather dying, of Frerin telling Dis and Thorin what a freak I was and throwing me out and I woke up with a swollen tongue, clearly having bitten it during the night to prevent the screams. I looked out of the small window and saw that it wasn't much after dawn. I dressed quietly and tied my hair back simply into a tail, before creeping down stairs. I moved out into the courtyard and sat down under the kitchen window, staring at the token I had carved out. I shifted as I heard Frerin moving around upstairs, moving to sit on the floor by the cold fire. I wrapped my arms around my knees, resting my head on them and trying to be as small as possible.

I heard him walk down the stairs, not even pausing at my room. I flinched, biting my lip to stop tears from forming. "Ariana? What are you doing down there?" He asked and I curled up tighter as he walked towards me. He paused and I looked up at him, from over my arms. He was watching me warily, "Ariana? Namanith, talk to me please." He whispered, crouching down and sitting opposite me. You don't want me any more. I signed out, not wanting to speak. I didn't really want to hear his answer, I would have no place to go if he threw me out and it scared me. He inhaled sharply and darted to his feet, causing me to flinch and put my hands over my head, the reaction unused, but not forgotten. 

He paused and came to sit next to me, tugging my arms down and away from my head. "Whatever gave you that impression? Of course I still want you here." He said and I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He was frowning, but there were tears forming in his eyes. "I don't know what I would do if you weren't here. Do you want to go?" He asked and I shook my head, signing, You seemed angry with me last night, then you ignored me when I came in. You didn't seem to want me at all. I told him and he sighed, standing up and walking away from me.

I flinched again, standing up and darting away quietly, up the stairs to my room. I clambered up into the bed and curled up under the blankets again, putting the pillow over my head, tears sliding down my cheeks. I bit down hard on my tongue to stay silent and could taste blood, but not really caring. I flinched, curling up tighter as footsteps came into the room. "Namanith? Ariana?" Dis' voice sounded, muffled by the pillow. I clamped the pillow down around my ears and bit down on my sealed lips, trying to keep all sounds in. I felt hands tugging on the blankets and I let them go, keeping the pillow over my head. 

Strong, calloused hands that were not Dis' prised my fingers away from the pillow and I heard Frerin mutter, "What has gotten into her?" Dis answered him, but I just curled up even tighter, wrapping my arms around my head, the tears flowing now, even though I tried to stop them. "Frerin, she's bleeding." I heard Dis say loudly and his hands moved mine away from my head. I kept my eyes and lips shut, refusing to do anything, turning away from them and hiding my face in the bed. "Namanith? Ariana please show me your face, I need to know where you're bleeding from." Dis pleaded with me and I sighed, shaking my head. 

I flinched when I heard Frerin growl and whimpered as his hands wrenched me up to sit against his chest, his arms wrapping around me; keeping me against his chest. I struggled for a moment before going limp, knowing I wouldn't get out of his hold. Dis' eyes were wide and she wiped away the tears and the corner of my mouth, her thumb coming away red. I swallowed and tasted the blood coming from where I had bitten my tongue. She prised my lips open and inhaled, "Namanith, what have you done to your tongue? This is far more swelling than just from this bite." She said and I flicked my eyes towards the window, signing, I didn’t want to wake Frerin last night. I didn't want to make him even madder. I didn't want to be even more of a burden. 

Frerin's arms loosened and I darted away from him, scrambling up on top of the tall wardrobe in the corner, that held mine and grandfathers clothes. Frerin looked up at me and I curled up on myself, "You are not a burden. I didn't think you would want to be crowded last night. I wasn't mad at you, I could never be mad at you. You know that I don't mind you waking me, why didn't you come and get me if your nightmares were back?" He asked and I shook my head, tears forming again. He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face, "Please come down Ari, it kills me to see you cry and I want to take a look at your tongue." He said and I moved slowly down off the wardrobe, finding myself in a hug as soon as my feet were on the ground.

Frerin pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I love you Ariana. I wasn't mad at you. Please don't do this to me again." He whispered and I looked up at him, allowing him to check my tongue, before guiding me back down the stairs with Dis behind us. We curled up together and Frerin kept murmuring things into my hair. I looked up around lunchtime to find them both asleep. I wriggled carefully out of their arms and began making us all some lunch, jumping when I felt a hand on my shoulder and found Vilí stood behind me. I smiled slightly at him and gestured to the food. 

He shook his head, signing, I already ate at home. I was looking for Dis. She didn't sleep well last night and I didn't want her to be in the forge when she was tired. I nodded and waved a hand at the living room. I take it you didn't sleep well either? He asked and I shook my head, No I had so many nightmares last night. Imagining adad and grandfather dying. Of Thorin not coming back. Of Frerin and Dis wanting me to leave. Of being too much trouble. I told him, looking away and back at the food. I flinched as arms came around me, Vilí wrapping me up in a hug. "I don't think any of us are willing to let you go. You have only been part of my family for a short time, but I can’t imagine you not being part of it." He told me and I smiled, nodding my head, my worries not gone, but lessened slightly.

I began to act as I had before this last day, once everyone had woken up and that night Frerin curled up in bed beside me, telling me stories until I fell asleep. The next few weeks passed much as they had before my weird spell, although I was aware that neither Frerin or I had forgotten it as he always made sure to reassure me I was wanted, needed here. I trained with both Frerin and Nori, I spent time with the other Ri brothers and Vilí and Dis. It was part way through the fourth week that I dared to look through grandfathers things and found a small leather pouch, I tucked away all the little gifts that had been given to me and took to wearing it around my neck as it hung down and was lost in the folds of my clothes. 

It was as the fifth week was drawing to a close that everything really changed. Frerin and I were just walking out of the house to go and see Dis and Vilí when Dis barrelled into us. "Their back. Thorin is back!" She chattered excitedly and someone cleared their throat behind us, we turned around to find Thorin, Dwalin and Balin stood behind us. We all froze, before darting forward and wrapping them all in a huge hug. I looked up to find Dwalin had a bandage wrapped around his head and Thorin was holding himself really stiffly, like he was hurting everywhere. We tugged them back into the house and ushered them to sit down.

Thorin sat down heavily and I curled up gently against his side, tucking my head against him and breathing in his smell, although it was strongly masked by the healing herbs that were being used on the injuries we couldn't see. Thorin told us the story of the battle, I think watering it down so that I wouldn't react badly. I rolled my eyes slightly, but was just really glad to have them all back safe. Thorin had several wounds on his chest and arms, as did Balin and Dwalin, who had also lost part of his ear and had a vicious cut across his nose that had scarred on the journey home. Dwalin and Balin stayed over that night, all of us again sleeping in a huge pile, but this time we were all curled up in the bed upstairs that Frerin and I had been sharing.

I woke up before all of them the next morning and slowly wiggled my way out of the pile. I looked around and decided that I would go out into the courtyard. I was moving through the steps with the axe and sword when I heard a chuckle behind me, I turned to find Thorin watching me. "It's nice to know that you take to your physical studies as well as your knowledge. I have never seen someone improve so quickly in such a short space of time. I'm so proud of you. You will make a formidable warrior." He told me, pressing a kiss to my forehead and pulling me into a hug. "Frerin and Vilí spoke to me about what happened last month. I don't want you to ever think that I would allow them to get rid of you. You are my sister and I guard what is mine. Also it may be a good idea not to tell Dwalin that you've been hanging around Nori Rison." He told me and I chuckled nodding.

Everyone stayed home today, with only a short time apart when people went to their homes to change. After lunch we were all sitting in our living room when Dis cleared her throat and drew all the attention to her. She moved away from Vilí and looked around at us, "I have some news to share with you all. As those who stayed know I haven't been feeling my best and have been rather tired, I'm sorry for deceiving you kurdumizim, but I went to see a healer yesterday morning." We all paused and I could see Vilí itching to ask what was wrong. Dis smiled, "There is nothing majorly wrong. The symptoms will last for a while, but it is not a bad thing." Vilí twitched and Dis finally took pity on him, "I'm with child." She blurted out.

The room froze for all of maybe a minute, before it sank in. Vilí pressed a kiss to Dis' head before paling and passing out. Thorin and Frerin were laughing and congratulating Dis, as were Balin and Dwalin. I moved over to Dis and hugged her tightly, signing my congratulations against her skin. She bent slightly and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'm counting on you mizimith to help me keep this child out of trouble, Mahal knows what will happen to it if these five get too much time with it." I giggled and nodded, glad that I would be of some help. I remembered something and ran upstairs quickly, I dug through a draw in my bedroom remembering seeing an envelope with Dis and Vilí's name on it. 

I ran back downstairs and passed it to her, she opened it up and shook out three beads and a letter. Each bead had the Durin crest on it and she read the letter tearing up. "This was left by grandfather for any children I might have. There is also a letter for Thorin and Frerin with the same inside, for any future children and spouses that we have." Dis said softly and I moved over to hug her. She smiled wrapping her arm around my shoulders, Thorin and Frerin darted upstairs to try and find them and I followed them upstairs, showing them where I had found the one for Dis. Frerin handed me my own letter and walked back downstairs. I sat down on the edge of the bed and opened it carefully.

**Ghivashel,**

**I know that as I write this our time together is growing short. I will soon be off to battle, one I know I will not return from. I have had some strange dreams of late, starting from before we left the mountain. These visions were telling me things I would need to do. I needed to make you several gifts, all of which are in the large chest in your room, should you ever managed to get back to the mountain. The others were things like the Durin beads and how many would be needed for each family. The final thing was these letters.**

**In the others letters I have explained many things to them and given them many lesson and words to live by, but in yours I need you to know several things. There is NO person on this earth who can remove you from the Durin line, you are now in it and will stay in it. There was an old ritual I remembered my grandfather doing for my uncle when he adopted a child, that using magic bound the bloodline together. While you were asleep, long before the dragon, I performed this ritual and made you drink the potion when you woke. I am so sorry for the deceitful way that I have done this, but for you to be parted from our bloodline will cause disastrous results.**

**I am not placing this burden on your shoulders, but I know that you will keep the rest of this line sane as you did for me. Also your wisdom and guidance is going to be very much in demand a long time in the future.**

**It feels strange to sit here writing this and watching you sleep in your bed across from me, knowing that when you read this I will have gone to the halls of my ancestors. Hopefully I will have made up for my mistakes before then. If not I will gladly suffer the shame, knowing that you are safe. Remember, our greatest glory is not never falling, but rising every time we fall and that hope, is the only thing that is stronger than fear.**

**Zu lukhudûn, uezuduh ra gimiluh.**

**I love you.**

**Grandfather.**

I wiped away the tears that had formed reading grandfather's words, tucking the letter into the pouch around my neck. I moved off the bed and walked down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to find Thorin and Frerin sitting next to each other, with a very proud Vilí holding Dis close on the couch, a Durin bead shining brightly in his hair. Dwalin was sat on the floor at Balin's feet, rubbing his bandaged ear. I smiled, leaning on the railing as I watched, clutching the little leather pouch around my neck that now held every gift that they had given me, even the swords and the axes. I wasn't going to question how grandfather's little leather pouch suddenly held so much more, almost like magic, I was just glad it did as it meant I could carry everything around with me.

Thorin turned slightly and saw me standing there, beckoning me over. I had only stepped down one step when I staggered, a sharp tugging pain piercing my stomach. I cried out as it kept tugging at my stomach, the pain slightly familiar from when I had arrived here in this world. "No. No. I don't want to go." I whispered out as Thorin tried to get to his feet quickly. "ARIANA!" I heard the shout of my name and saw Thorin and Frerin reaching for me, just as the house faded to black and the world around me span. I curled up on myself and waited for the spinning to stop. 

I looked up and found myself back in my original world, on a street I didn't recognise. I looked around and quickly shed the furs and boots, tucking them away in to my bag, I was left just in my breeches and shirt which gave me the look of a homeless child. Which I realised as I untangled my hair and took the beads from my braids, I now was again. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought this, I had no idea how to get home and I had no idea where I was. I moved out onto the street and looked around trying to find something familiar. It was as I was edging towards the other end of the alley I was in that footsteps sounded behind me and a strong hand holding a cloth clamped over my mouth. The last thing I remember was a man's voice saying, _"I have a good feeling about this one."_


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it probably isn't mine.
> 
> A/N: I apologise if there is anything in this chapter that upset's anyone. I also apologise if there are any mistakes or errors in spelling.  
> This is very much a WTF chapter, some of it will be explained in the next chapter, and some of it will be explained later in the story, but I promise that it will all be explained :) 
> 
> I am unsure if I like this chapter now that I have had a chance to re-read this story and explore where this story is going, so apologies if this doesn't fit.
> 
> Thoughts are in Bold  
> Letters in Italics

No POV  
2 years and 3 months after  
   
The huge metal doors flew open with an explosive force, but she didn't even flinch. She could hear them, all the men, both the old and the new. Their voices inside her mind, their memories and feelings and thoughts. She leant her head against the back bars of her small cage, the chain around her neck clinking and the collar heavy, but the feeling of the metal was comforting. She looked down at her left arm and even though they weren't there she could see the numbers branded into her arm as they had been to another.  
   
She began to scratch at the area, trying to get the numbers off. She didn't even realise her cage had been unlocked until a hand touched hers. She looked up at the man with wide green eyes, huge in her sunken and starved face. "Shh, it's ok Sweetheart. My name is Phil and I'm here to take you home ok?" She looked at him, blinking. Surely this was a dream or she had finally died. No one was coming for her, they had told her so and the only people that cared weren't anywhere near here. Home wasn't anywhere near here and no one knew how to get back to it, but at least if she was free she could maybe learn how to get back.  
   
She shied away from him as he tried to take the collar from around her neck. She caught a glimpse of herself in his thoughts and was shocked. Every bone on her body stood out in stark contrast to her skin, stretching it tight. The old scar on her cheek was a slightly sunken gouge in her face. Her hair hung matted around her face and there was thick welts on the exposed areas of her skin. Where had the little warrior gone? She thought. "Shh, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to take it off ok?" She nodded, her voice gone after so long not using it.  
   
He moved forward again and she stilled, ready to fight if it came to that. It didn't as he gently eased the collar from around her neck and beckoned her out of the cage. She crept forward gingerly and looked around the room, every other child's eyes on her. They would follow her lead and she saw that in their thoughts, she was their leader, the strongest and bravest of them. She moved out into the light and accepted being carried by Phil. He took her away from the cage and out into the sunlight.   
   
She blinked away from the first natural light her skin had seen in two years. "Shh it's ok, keep your eyes covered ok?" He murmured to her and she nodded, tucking her head into his neck, feeling some what safe for the first time in years. When she looked up next she was tucked inside a plane, the metal soothing around her and she looked up at her rescuer.  His kind eyes looked down at her and his hand lightly stroked the top of her head, his thoughts and memories rushing through her mind like a quick succession. She turned around as one of the older boys began to retch and cough.   
   
She darted across the plane on unsteady legs and crouched down. This was always how it started, the coughing. His body was rejecting the serum that had been injected into his body. She looked up into his eyes and he nodded, he knew what was coming. She slid onto the bench next to him and put her thin arms around him. Despite being taller than her he curled up into her and she stroked a hand across his forehead. "Sweetheart, what's going on?" Her rescuer asked her and she looked at him with sad eyes. He inhaled. "We need a medic, this boy is sick." He called out as the boy in her arms began to cough again and she shook her head at the man. It was too late there was no saving the boy in her arms.  
   
She leant forward and pressed her forehead to his, her hair covering his face and her mind reaching out to touch his. **I am so sorry.** She whispered into his mind, as she did with all the others that had died since they had been injected. All  fourteen of them, well fifteen of them now. **It's ok, I want the pain to end. I'm glad you're here. Keep this hidden though. Don't let any of them know that the serum worked. Keep living and make sure this never happens again to kids like us.** He whispered and began to shudder violently, she pulled his pain into her body. He deserved to die in peace, just like the others. She clenched her eyes shut and felt tears begin to build behind her eye lids as she felt another mind go blank.   
   
She pressed a kiss to the boys forehead as he took his last breath and looked up at her rescuer, tears sliding down her face as one by one the other children began to shake and cry. She looked down, brushing his hair back from his face and gently moved away for the adults to work. She moved over to the others and they all reached out towards her, curling up in a huge ball of bodies, each of them crying. All except her, she would stay strong for them, she thought brushing the tears that had fallen away. She would keep them safe.   
   
She jolted as the plane landed and she blinked rapidly as the voices flooded into her mind. She flinched away from both the bright lights and the voices. The others froze waiting for her to stand, to follow where she led them. She stood shakily and moved following her rescuer. He smiled down at her and she tilted her head to the side. Was his kindness genuine? It seemed to be. They were led towards a medical facility were they were treated and poked and prodded by the doctors. It was halfway through this that she darted away from the doctors helping her to run towards the next room as the last girl besides her began to cry.   
   
She darted around all the people and clambered up onto the bed, the girl clung to her and she swept a hand across her head. **You are not alone, I'm here. I'm so sorry.** She whispered into her mind as the girl pressed her face into her neck. **Thank you.** She pressed a kiss to her forehead, taking the pain away as much as she could. Pain didn't bother her anymore, she could ignore it. The girl shuddered and went limp in her arms the doctors soon began to push her away and look at the little girl. She slunk away from the room and back to her own.  
   
Morning found that two more of the boys, the twins, were beginning to cough.  Phil was there waiting for her and watched her as she tried to enter the room. The doctors pushed her back out. "Let her in it will calm them down. The least we can do it let them die in peace." He snapped out at the doctors and they shook their heads. "She needs to stay out there." Phil came and crouched down next to her, "I'm sorry you can't go in there." She was tempted just to throw them all out of the way with her mind, but she remembered the promise she made yesterday. She settled for looking in the window, Phil a quiet presence  by her side. Her power crawling under her skin, begging to be let out.

She reigned it in and steeled herself. She would be strong like her mountain, proud as any Durin and she would survive, she would live and find her way back home. Nothing was going to stop her from doing that, her nadad's and naman deserved to know she was alive again. She stayed silent and cooperative throughout the rest of their time in the hospital and when they were moved to a house, with sickeningly nice people looking after them and babying them. She didn't need to be treated like she was porcelain and would break with the slightest breeze, she was a child of the line of Durin. Her finger ached for her daggers, her power, her magic crawled under her skin and that was never a good thing.  
   
She sat in the day room of the house they had been placed in and looked out at the garden. There had been 26 children all those years ago, now there was only eight. How many of them would make it? She shuddered and blinked when she heard the door open. She turned to look at the men, one of them was Phil and he smiled down at her. The other was a dark skinned man with a patch over one eye. She flinched and stood, ready to run, this man scared her. "Its ok Anna, your safe." Phil said coming over and holding her hand. She blinked and looked at him, she hadn't spoken a word since they had found her, but Phil had come to know what she meant. It brought pain and sadness to her thoughts, she longed for her lost family, for her grandfather.  
   
"My name is Colonel Nicholas Fury. I need your help. The man who did this to you and the others is going on trial in court and we have a lot of evidence to convict him, but the thing that would really sway the jury is the eight of you getting up and saying what you can. We need your help to put this monster away for good. If you help us I promise not to let this happen again, to stop any other children from going through what you have." She read his mind and he really did want her help. She tilted her head to the side for a minute before nodding. "I'll help you." She said, but it wasn't English that came out, it was German. She blinked and frowned.  
   
"Thank you. Can you speak English?" She wanted to say yes, but it seemed that her mind was not complying, so she shook her head. They nodded and said they would get her a translator for the trial. Phil squeezed her shoulder as they left in thanks and she smiled faintly. She would make sure that he didn't get away with this, she would make sure he was thrown into a pit and never got out. She would do this for the others and the ones who's dying memories and thoughts haunted her dreams.

It was barely a week later that the trial got underway, the children were given clothes that despite being the right ones for other children their ages, still hung off their gaunt frames. She could hear the whispers around the courtroom, both mental and spoken, the pity and sadness that was directed at them, at her for being the only girl left alive. She watched as the judge came out and started talking, as the demon sat on a chair, like it was a throne at the front looking over at them and smirking. She saw many of the jury watching her and the seven boys sat around her, seeing how the boys cowered away from him like he was going to win and come after them again. Well he couldn't have her, she was so much stronger than he knew.

She straightened her spine and pretended it was one of the Ironfist bastards who had come to take her grandfathers throne, by kidnapping her. She saw how her face changed from that of a nervous, frightened child to the proud face of a Princess. She held her head high, made her face completely blank and devoid of all emotion, but let her eyes show the anger and pain she had felt. She saw him look over at her and she tried to pretend he didn't exist. It worked that first day as all the evidence was heard against him. The second day was more difficult to deal with.

They had to give evidence, the boys going first, before they put her in the box. She tried to pretend that it was the throne in Erebor, that grandfather was stood behind her and at that thought a warmth drifted down her spine, Remember little one, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. She straightened her spine and stared the demon in the eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking, careful to think in German and not in Khuzdul. She told her tale from being taken from the street until the day she had been rescued, unlike the boys she didn't stumble over words or memories, she let the tears form but not fall. She had survived being kidnapped, stabbed and homelessness, she could survive this bastard. 

She spoke softly, but kept the slight tint of pain that coloured her speech. She had the advantage over him, she could hear how the jury were reacting. How they were angry, sad and disgusted at what had happened to these children. She was finishing her final part of her tale when one of the boys, he was only nine began to start coughing. The bastard sighed, disappointed that another one was dying. She darted out of the box as the boy began to cry, his body convulsing strongly. She hugged him close to her, his reaction stronger than anyone else's had been since the first few deaths. She stroked his forehead, humming softly under her breath as his coughs became wetter and redder. **I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll make sure he pays, he will forever regret what he has done to us.** She told him.

He nodded, tears now tinged with pink ran down his face and his breath rattled out to a stop. She froze, before laying him down and moving back as the medics came in. They began to try and bring him back and she spoke louder than she had in the chair, but still softly. "Don't, don't bring him back to the pain. Let him be at peace, at least let him have that. After everything that has been taken from us, let him have his peace." She heard the translator echo her words, hearing the jury gasp. She turned and looked down, seeing the blood covering her stomach. She looked over at the monster and she walked up to him, her head held high. "I hope you spend your days rotting in a cage, like you made us do. I hope when you die, it's in agony and all alone. You deserve nothing more and a lot less." She told him, walking back to sit on the chair. Even his own lawyer was looking at him like he was filth.

The bastard chuckled, "You will die last, I can see it. You are the strongest one out of them all. You will fight the effects for as long as you can, it's just such a shame that it didn't work on you. It's amazing really, seven doses of that serum and you are still breathing, yet those that only had one are dead." She flinched, her mask dropping as he spoke. "Oh yes you remember it don’t you, being stuck over and over with the needles, strapped helpless to that table." He chuckled darkly and she flinched, her memory bringing to the forefront each time that he spoke of. She began to shake and suddenly Phil was beside her, taking her away from the chair. She struggled against his hold and when he put her down she darted over to the monster.

She tipped his chair over and stood over him, "I wish you the most painful and slow death you could ever imagine. I want you to know what it feels like to burn from the inside out, feel your blood boil and the fire creep along your nerves. I want you to feel every second of the pain and do what I NEVER did. I want you to beg and know that you are weaker than a child, than a girl. I want you to know that I was never broken." She told him, the translators English washing over her. He tried to rise as she suddenly felt all the rage of being locked away in a cage bubble up inside her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, suddenly she could hear adad's voice instructing her. She pulled her head away from him and he grinned, thinking her scared. She slammed her head forwards, smirking in satisfaction at the crunch of his nose breaking under her vicious headbutt.

Phil quickly scooped her up again, but she knew that her actions had not changed the jury's mind on what way they would vote. The judge called for them to adjourn and make a judgement, which would be heard the next day. Phil took her out of the courtroom and back to the house. "That probably wasn't a very good idea, but then again it does give some satisfaction I suppose." She grinned, nodding her head. She slept uneasily that night, memories of the cage surfacing and mixing with the one of the cell she had been in when she was kidnapped. When she woke the next morning she slipped the token around her neck that she had made her grandfather, then another leather strap that had a small pouch hanging off it. She tucked that under her clothes, keeping all her dwarvish gifts close to her heart, remembering her nadad's words. You truly are a dwarf at heart. She braided her hair simply and let it hang down her back, loving that her hair was still long even after everything.

Phil sat in the row behind her and the boys, a hand resting on the wood of the bench next to her. She knew it was meant as a comfort, but she had decided overnight during one of her bouts of sleeplessness, that she would never again be as weak as the child she had been in that cage. She was going to make sure that whatever was thrown at her, she would survive it and come out stronger. The jury filed out and she absently fiddled with the little token. A older man stood up and walked over to the judge, who gestured for him to read the paper. "We, the people of the jury, find Dr Andrew Jackson, guilty of child abuse, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture and administration of illegal substances to minors. We demand that he get the maximum sentence possible and given no option for parole." Her heart unclenched as the words were read out. 

She could now disappear without worrying he would come after her, she had spoken to the other boys and they would use her gift to stay in touch, but they encouraged her to disappear and get away from the memories. Four of them had told her that the didn't think they would last much longer and the other two were beginning to unravel, by the end of the year she would be all alone and she could not stand to see more death. She had her fill of it with dragonfire and impossible battles. When Phil dropped her back at the house that night she waited until their carers were asleep, hugged all the boys goodbye and sat in her room, a finger tracing the letter that had arrived yesterday from out of nowhere. She rolled her eyes at the wording, _'It was your mother's wish that you attend this school. To get there please speak it's name to the parchment enclosed and you will be taken there.'_ She didn't care about her mother's wishes, but from the name of the school it was abroad and would be far away from what had happened here. 

She packed up all she could and watched it shrink to fit in her bag, her magic humming beneath her skin. She looked around and saw the note she had written for Phil. Inside it had simply said, "I am sorry to leave, but I need to. Thank you for reminding me that men can be good. Anna." She gave one last look around the room, tucked the parchment into her pocket and climbed out the window, quickly scaling the drainpipe and running across the grass. When she knew she was out of sight of all the cameras, she stroked her finger across the name and whispered it to the wind, disappearing with a pop.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If you can recognise it, then I don't own it.
> 
> A/N: I apologise for any mistakes, I have read this five times so they are probably rather stupid ones.
> 
> Also this is the main and probably only HP reference.

Ariana POV

I stretched and groaned as my back popped, staring out across the grass that sat before the lake. I rolled my neck around, grinning at the crunch it made. I watched from under my sunglasses as several first and second year students saw my grin and darted away. That's right little children, run away from the mean and scary Fairy, I snorted to myself. I was surrounded by people who professed to be educated and know things about creatures that many thought were mere myths, yet they didn't understand that Faerie was where the Fae lived, it wasn't their actual name. Idiots.

I stretched and felt my biggest, little secret itch to come out from under my skin. I reigned them back in and thought back over the last 15 years. When the trial had finished I had wanted to disappear and had gotten that chance. A letter arrived from a school out in Africa, that my parents had apparently wanted me to attend before I went into the main system for 7 years. So I did it and when I left I had no money, little clothing and a letter saying that I was going to need to be in Paris on September the first to catch the train to my school in France. So I had had to get from somewhere around the Congo to Paris, in just under two months.

I had done it and I learnt a lot along the way, I picked up my school supplies second hand wherever I could, language didn't matter. I worked for the money to buy them and food by helping farmers and people who had broken down. When I arrived in France, the only thing I didn't have was a uniform. Didn't really matter as I ended up being expelled six weeks later for "bullying" the other delicate girls. All I had done was bully them back after taking their shit for six weeks. I then went to an all boys school in Eastern Europe after that, but was expelled at the end of the year too.

I moved around a lot after that, spent a year at school in India, followed by a year in China, then Japan. I was 16 when I ended up down in Australia, I spent Christmas over in New Zealand as it reminded me of Thorin and the others and the only home I'd ever known. It was there that I came into my big, little secret, although learning to deal with those was a bit of a bitch. After Australia I ended up in Brazil, I then moved back to America and finished up my wizarding schooling. Well officially. Unofficially I had been finished and progressed on to mastering subjects, kind of like moving up to college. I'd also been attending college courses long distance as well and by the time I hit twenty I had five degrees and a PhD to my name. You know I had always been an over achiever, but having a sky high IQ and an amazing memory, not going to lie, it helped.

I had just spent the last six years pretending to be the same age as the kid I was guarding and instead of doing the school work I focused on getting my degrees and masteries in subjects. To escape detention I worked in the hospital wing and became a qualified healer. Then the latest civil war happened, I got too involved, showed people that I had a little more power than I should have. It was their own fault really, what did they expect. I was a Fae, I had power that they couldn't imagine and until recently I hadn't even realised that the fucking moron in charge here had been the one to orchestrate my capture by the bastard son of an orc 17 years ago. 

I stood and stretched, picking up the old book of Fae magic I had been reading, a gift from my grandmother. Not that she had wanted me, I wasn't a pure enough Fae for her liking. I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses and walked back up the steps to the monstrous castle that once had felt so welcoming, but now felt like my own personal hell. I had finally gotten bored of always being called a freak and when I had applied to go to college at such a young age they asked that I submit to a doctor's examination to ensure that I wasn't using alternative methods to cheat my way to information.

Originally the doctor had assumed my memory was eidetic, instead we found out I have a condition called Hyperthymesia, which means that I have an autobiographical memory.  I can recall anything from my life in near perfect detail. So anything I've seen, touched, tasted, heard or smelt, I only have to experience it again or think vaguely about it to trigger a recollection of that event. I can do anything but forget with my memory. I sighed, it was not as fun as it sounds, especially when people make snide remarks and it throws you back to a time were you had nothing.

I moved silently up through the corridors of the school and down to my rooms in the dungeon, because 'Where else would you keep the monster?', as I was so fond of hearing from nearly every bloody child in this school. At 26, I was well over the bullshit they liked to play, I sighed, feeling older than my years, but then again while I had aged in Middle Earth beyond what I had arrived at, my body had really only aged at the same time as this world, with time moving quicker in Middle earth. I sighed, it would probably have been nearing 80 years for them. I wondered whether Dis and Vilí had had a little boy or girl? Had they had more than one? Had Frerin and Thorin found their ones? Did they have children? I sighed, I would probably never know as I was no closer to finding my way back than I had been 15 years previously. 

I waited until the evening had set in, passing the time by reading and just remembering the good times. It had been while I was trapped in a cage for two years that I had realised that whatever I had under my skin really was what was keeping me alive. I had had, what Nori had called an episode, but now I knew it was a vision of me in the future trying to explain what my magic was and why it was so powerful. After that I focused on it every night while in that cage, binding it tightly to me and training it to respond to the smallest thought I had. That had truly helped me over the years and I had never had to use a wand and it was only when I was really drained that I used the staff that had come to me with my Creature Inheritance. 

I lent my head back against the couch and studied the ceiling, listening to the soft cawing of my raven and the coos of my three little surprises. I had brought back with me the three little eggs that Frerin had given me for my first birthday in Erebor and wouldn't he just die if he knew that they weren't just decorative. While I had been in China I had locked myself in my room after a particularly bad day and had started a fire in the small pit in my room. I had then laid out all my dwarvish gifts on the little table, as I did every time I was stressed. It helped me recall certain memories and it calmed me immensely. I had just been running my fingers over the little dragon figure when two of the little brats had slammed their hands against my door, causing me to jump and knock the table. 

I had been yelling at them and had not realised that the three little eggs had rolled off the table and had fallen into the fire pit, at least not until I had turned around and seen them glowing in the flames. I had curled up next to the fire and begun to cry, thinking I had lost three of my most treasured possessions. Instead I had gained them back with interest, for when I had woken up the next morning I had found three small dragons curled up against me. One ruby, one sapphire and one a brilliant white, Cináed, Alina and Dracarys, a fire, water and a firstborn. I smiled Dracarys was always changing what he could breathe, one day it was ice, the next fire and the day after that he was causing gales with his wings. It made sense that I was weird and so my familiars would be too.

I sighed as the clock struck nine, nearly all the students would be in their dormitories now, except the older ones and now was when the really good conversations could be over heard. I grinned wickedly and shifted into my one of my preferred forms, a little black cat. I crept through the halls, following the familiar smells and found the little ledge that was a small passage way into the staff room. I hopped up onto it and squeezed inside, knowing that it wasn't just the teachers that used this room, but the ones I had also been guarding for so long.

I jumped silently onto the top of the large wardrobe, my favourite hiding place and settled down to listen. It was only moments later that the headmaster began to speak. "Has anyone got anything they wish to discuss at this time?" I rolled my eyes, knowing that someone would make a comment about me or my ability to still be breathing. "Yes, how can we get rid of Ariana? She skulks around the hallways and is scaring all the younger students." Hermione's voice came floating up to me and I was tempted to hiss at her, I didn't skulk at all. I sneaked, thank you very much. 

Dumbledore sighed, "I am afraid it's not that simple my dear. She is here until it is decided that she is no longer of any use to us. Unfortunately she still is of use. After all how many wizarding communities can say they have full access to a fairy and all the advantages that come with that? Her blood alone is a valuable commodity." He said and I bristled, I was not some kind of animal to be harvested, my claws ached to sink into his skin. "Yeah, but why don't we just take what we can now then get rid of her?" Ron's voice asked and I bared my teeth, this was not the kind of conversation I wanted to be hearing at all.

I slid closer to the edge of the wardrobe, making sure to stay behind the wood decoration at the top. "We could do that, but how are we going to get her wings? We don't even know if she has them, the wings and blood are the most important part of the fairy. That and she seems to have a higher tolerance for Iron than most fairies, we've all seen her hold things made with a high iron content." Hermione whinged and I rolled my eyes, yes they had seen me touch high iron content things, but only because I could move the majority of the iron away from where I was holding it. And if they thought they could have my wings they would have another war on their hands, of course only if they could find them.

Dumbledore sighed, "We are just going to have to wait her out, she is of some use to us at the moment." He murmured out. "Professor, do you think we could bargain with her? She doesn't know that you have the book that holds the spell to take her home. I know she wants to go back, although Merlin knows why, it sounds awful." Harry's voice rang out and I froze, Dumbledore had the spell I needed. "Harry it is entirely possible that we could bargain with her, but whether or not she holds to her end of it I don't know. I mean we thought we knew her before the final battle and look how she surprised us. Also the amount of energy it takes to cast the spell to send her back is immense, I am afraid that if I use it a third time it will kill me." He said and bared my teeth, he was the reason I was thrown to Erebor then pulled away from there again, he had manipulated my life for the last time.

I stayed where I was listening further to the conversations that flowed through the room, gathering all the little titbits of information that I would need. When the room was finally quiet and still, I moved back along the passage way and ran through the darkened halls back to my rooms. I had barely stepped foot in the before I was bursting back to human form, my magic leaking out around me. My room was silent as I let the tempest grow around me, before taking a deep breath and shrinking it down. I moved up to my room and watched as my magic began to pack everything into a small backpack. 

I tugged the pouch off my neck and pulled out the two small axes I had received all those years ago and began to sharpen them, although they truthfully didn't need it. I repeated the action with my short sword from Dwalin, if I was this close to being able to get home then I would damn sure make it so that I was ready to leave at a moments notice. I sighed and pulled out the elvish short sword that had been gifted to me and swallowed past the hurt feeling that bloomed in my chest, despite all the years I had had to come to terms with Thranduil's abandonment. My raven, Thalion, cawed from his perch before jumping down and turning into a man, "Mistress? What's wrong? You have nae been this angry for years." He spoke, his Scottish brogue echoing around the room.

I turned to him and flicked the sword out, running through a series of movements I had learnt while travelling through the Middle East, I span around and told him the story of what I had learnt. He watched me with his head tilted to the side and I saw that my three dragons were sitting on his shoulders and resting on his head. I sighed and stopped, putting the sword away in the sheath. "The worst part of this is that I have had the means to get home sat under my nose for the last six years." I growled out and sat down heavily on my bed. Thalion sat on the bed next to me and Dracarys jumped from his perch on Thalion's head down into my lap. 

I stroked a hand across his back as Thalion spoke, "Aye, while tha' is all well an' good, Mistress, you would nae have had tha chance to rescue me and then you would be down a raven an' how could I deny ye the right to gaze at me beautiful self?" He asked and I chuckled, nodding and remembering the first summer before I had arrived here. I had been walking on the Isle of Skye and had come across a raven caught in a section of barbed wire fencing. I had freed him and nursed him back to health and he had stayed with me for the last six years, his name was elvish for champion and he was my wings. 

I flicked his beak like nose and he squawked, causing me to laugh. "Aye, then I wouldn't have you would I? Although I also wouldn't have to keep telling you off every time you brought back something shiny." He sniffed and gazed at me with his jet black eyes, "Aye, I suppose you would nae have to do tha'. If you did have tha spell, would ye have been ready to use it?" He asked and I thought for a moment, before shaking my head. "No I suppose I wouldn't be. It wasn't time I don't think. Now it is." I sad, frustrated that I knew I was needed more than ever in Middle Earth, but not knowing why. 

I curled up that night with the memories of my old life floating through my mind, almost like they felt that I had forgotten them and I needed a refresher. I awoke the next morning having remembered every last detail. I showered and then stood in front of the small selection of my clothes that would not be going with me to Middle Earth, in the end I settled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a lemon tank top and a long black cardigan. I slid my on my high heeled boots and tugged my hair back into a rough braid. I swiped some mascara on my lashes and defined my amazing eyes with a line of black eyeliner, finishing with a dash of blood red lipstick. I pulled the necklace adad had given me out of my pouch and clipped it on around my neck along with the bracelet from Thorin. I checked that none of my earrings had fallen out during the night, as they did every time I had a restless night. I clicked the small jewelled tongue stud against my teeth and felt ready to face the day.

I strode up into the dining hall like I owned it, watching as every child turned to face me. I knew that to them I looked fierce and haughty, causing a smirk to rise as I approached the headmaster, wanting desperately to wipe the condescending look from his face. "Yes my dear?" He asked all grandfatherly and I wanted to throw up. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I'm leaving the grounds for the day. Don't follow me, don’t think I don't notice your little spies. For Mahal's sake, use someone a little more inconspicuous than Fred and George Weasley." His eyes widened, as did my smirk, yes I am on to you, you manipulative old goat and if I were you I would be very afraid. 

With that being said I span on my heel and walked down the hall, shooting glares at the few people that dared to stare at me for too long. The school soon gave way to the fresh air outside and I flicked my wrist, opening up a portal to Diagon Alley. I stalked up the street, startling a few of the early morning shoppers, not that I really cared any more. I climbed the steps into the bank and stood in front of the teller, knowing full well that he would serve me at his leisure. "Yes?" He drawled out, without looking up and I smirked. "I want to empty my vault." I drawled out, knowing that I sounded incredibly bored.

His head shot up and he stared at me, "Madam? Are you entirely sure?" He asked and I looked at him, raising my eyebrow and not saying anything. "Right yes of course, if you will follow me I will take you down to an office where you can sort it all out." I nodded my head and followed him down a corridor to the head of the banks office. I listened, disinterested as they spoke, knowing they were questioning the suddenness of my request. "My mind is my own, now can we please get on with it? I have other things I want to do today." I snapped out and they both jumped, bowing their head and the teller gestured for me to sit down. 

I sat down in the chair and flashed the head of the bank a smile, full of teeth, knowing he would get the subtle message. I was a creature who had a very short leash on her temper today and he would do well to tread carefully. He cleared his throat and we began to talk about the processes involved in me closing my account and emptying my vaults. I nodded along at all the right points up until I realised he was stalling me and I sat up a little straighter, crossing one leg over the other. He froze and he realised that the thin ice he had been walking on had just cracked completely. "I want to clear everything out of my vault now. You will escort me down to do that or I will make my own way down there." I told him and he nodded, quickly getting up and ushering me down towards the carts. 

We had barely sat down in one, when I flicked my fingers causing the cart to move, my powers controlling it all the way down to my vault. I stood and exited the cart as the goblin sat in it, hands still clenched around the bar. I grinned, viciously and flicked my fingers again, causing my vault door to clang open. I walked inside and pulled a small bag out of my pocket, all the money that I had managed to accumulate over the years changing into the coins for Middle Earth as they flew into the pouch. The few books and things that I kept in my vault away from prying eyes flew in last. The money, jewels and other things that my parents had acquired over their lives also flew into the pouch despite being in a separate vault. I smirked and closed up the pouch, sliding it back into my pocket. 

I turned and walked out of the vault and sat next to the speechless goblin who was eyeing the pocket I had put my pouch in, I smirked and twitched my finger slightly. The cart lurched back up to the upper levels of the bank and I climbed out, bowing shallowly. "Pleasure doing business with you. Consider all accounts in my name closed." I told him dropping the keys to my vaults into his palm and walked calmly away from him. As I strode up into the entrance of the bank, I caught a glimpse of Dumbledore and smirked, he had no idea what had just happened and by the time he spoke to the goblin involved I would be back at school.

I quickly opened a portal and stepped through it, arriving back at school in my rooms. I placed the last pouch into my pack and stripped out of the clothes I intended to leave behind. I slid on the traditional dwarvish clothes I had had made over the years, the wool breeches, the cotton undershirt, the thick tunic and the sturdy boots. I laid the fur lined coat out on my bed beside my pack and turned to familiars. "Be ready when I come back. I shouldn't be too long." I told them, before slipping out of the room in my cat form and making my way upstairs to the secret passage McGonagall used to enter his office. 

I climbed inside and looked around, searching for the one book that I needed. In the end I thought to hell with it and transformed, demanding my magic brought me anything that pertained to me getting back home. I was shocked as four sheets of parchment and a thick book came rushing towards me, my magic opening the book on the right page and a quick glance at the parchments told me that they were just copies of the spell. To my shock a vial of memories also came floating over to me, I warded the door and placed the memories in the pensieve. 

The memories showed Dumbledore arguing with my parents, demanding that they joined his side in the first fight against Voldemort and when they refused he had them followed, finding them over in America and learning they were going to have a child. It showed him ranting about how powerful I was going to be and how he killed my parents to try and make sure I was powerful, but weak and easily manipulated. They then showed how he came across the book and in reading the spell aloud, like the dumbass he was, he had caused me to vanish.

The next memory showed him panicking about not being able to find me for nearly three years, then finally realising that I had disappeared when he had read the spell. He read it again, but had been thinking that he wanted me to land where someone would find me and break me. I jerked out of the memories and growled, pulling them out of the pensieve and throwing both the vial and the parchments into the blazing fire. I then took the book and proceeded to stalk out of the office, nearly bowling over several students as I stalked down to my rooms. I opened and slammed the door, cutting off the cry of my name from the headmaster as he and several others ran to catch up to me. I shrugged the coat on and shouldered my pack, fitting a second small compartment on the bottom for my dragons to crawl into and hide. 

Thalion came and sat on my shoulder and I picked up the book again, storming through my old rooms and out into the corridor, my magic shoving those crowded there into the walls. I walked quickly up and out into the grounds hearing them clamber behind me to keep up. "Ariana I insist you stop this instant." Dumbledore thundered after me and I turned on him, anger clouding my voice. "You insist? You would dare presume to think that you have any power over me?" My magic whipped out around me as I spoke, the temperature dropping to freezing, the sky darkening and thunder shook the grounds. 

Everyone froze, knowing that whatever Dumbledore said next could push me over the edge. I opened the book to the spell I needed and when he tried to take a step forward a bolt of lightning struck in front of him, causing him to take several steps back. I would not be denied this chance to go home. I read through the spell several times, ignoring as the lightning struck multiple times in front of me as they all tried to reach me. I finished reading it for the seventh time and felt confident enough to use it, sending the book into the depths of my bag. "You have had your chance, now I get to live my life. I am no slave, I am no pet and I am not something to be harvested. I am a Princess and I will be going home." I told them before reading out the spell and feeling the horrid tugging sensation at my navel, Thalion sinking his talons into my shoulder.

I steadied myself as the world span and I waited as it came back into focus. I found myself standing on the side of a cliff, looking across to the setting sun and seeing the lonely mountain. I brushed the tears that fell down my cheeks, never before had I seen such a beautiful sight as that. My three little dragons crawled out of the compartment at the bottom of my bag and I looked around finding a empty cave at my back and nothing but nature around for miles. I smiled and let my magic flow out, allowing it to readjust to this world as it allowed my three dragons to grow to the true size. 

Alina cooed, "Thank you. I am so thankful to be back to my normal size." She spoke the cold wind shivering slightly as it bent to obey her. I smiled and turned to them, "I would ask that you all stay here and out of sight, feel free to change your size to leave the cave and go hunting, but be careful there are few beings in this world that would welcome dragons and those that would, would want to use you for evil. I need to find my family and explain a few things to them and I can't do that if I am worried that they will discover you in my pack." I told them and they nodded. 

Thalion, hopped onto the top of my pack and I changed the dragon compartment into a small bedroll, waving goodbye to my dragons and slowly making my way down the cliff and along the road towards Ered Luin. I knew that they had not taken back the mountain yet, somehow, so I moved towards the second home I knew here, both scared and excited about what I would find. I soon settled back into the motions of living in a place where there was on fast food, no electricity, no easy way of getting any where and for some reason the simplicity, but hardship of this life style was soothing. 

I could feel the three dragons presence at the back of my mind like a soothing hum and I knew they were safe. It was close to a week after I had arrived when a figure moved out onto the path beside me and I turned to it reaching for the short sword I had strapped to my belt. "Peace my dear, I mean you no harm. I am Gandalf the Grey and I would like to offer you the chance to take part in an adventure." He said mysteriously and I turned to look at him, Thalion cawing in indignation on my shoulder. I could see why, this new man looked very similar to Dumbledore. 

I turned back to face the road as we walked, "And you think that I would be interested in this venture of yours because?" I asked, as we wandered along. He chuckled and pulled out a pipe, packing it as we walked. "Because I feel that what we are seeking to reclaim is something very dear to you. Also I believe you would balance out your eldest brother, he has become rather more closed off since your disappearance." Gandalf said and I froze, Thorin would be on this venture. I turned to him and looked him in the eye. "If you are lying to me, you will die agonisingly slowly. Just so you are aware." I said casually and he blinked at me, nodding. "I am not lying. I assume you remember where the Shire is?" He asked and I nodded, of course I remembered that beautiful place. "Very well I will meet you in Hobbiton. See you there." He said and walked in the opposite direction to me. 

I rolled my eyes and continued on to the shire, even here wizards were an unusual lot. I sighed and then froze as Thalion started to caw, "For fucks sake, he didn't say where in Hobbiton. Damn it." I swore and kicked a rock out of pure childishness. I sighed, "Guess this is the start of the adventure, find the Gandalf in the hobbit hole." I growled out and stomped my way towards the shire, my heart light at the thought of seeing my brother once again.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing that is part of the original storyline of the Hobbit.
> 
> A/N: I have had it pointed out to me that the two previous chapters were a little confusing as I have all the background info and you don't (sorry :s) This chapter gives a little bit of a brief mention of Chapter 9, but it will be the following chapters that will explain those chapters a little more. As I said sorry about the confusion, but all will be explained soon :)

Bilbo POV

I stared around in shock, how in the name of Yavanna had I ended up with thirteen dwarves and a wizard in my house? Oh my mother would be so proud. However I was more focused on the fact that they had completely demolished the food in my main pantry, tracked mud into the carpet, rugs and floors, had ruined several pieces of furniture, had about given me a heart attack when throwing around my mother's pottery and on top of all that they had destroyed my plumbing. 

Then Thorin Oakenshield had handed me that contract and caused me to faint, the smug look on his face when I came around setting my teeth on edge. Who did he think he was coming into my home and being so rude? Honestly he was making a very poor first impression, all of them were. I groaned as they sat in my living room, puffing away on their pipes, when the doorbell rang. I turned to look at Gandalf, how many people had he invited? "I wasn't aware that we had any more people to join us." Balin, I think, said. Gandalf merely smiled and I huffed going to get the door, that wizard was planning something.  
   
I tugged it open, expecting to see another dwarf, but stared slightly as I was met with a slight form, wrapped in a cloak and carrying their pack. The figure turned and pushed their hood down, revealing a female. She smiled over at me and my heart felt light, there was just something about her that calmed my nerves. "Good evening, I am very sorry to interrupt your evening, but you couldn't tell me where I could find Gandalf could you? He only said he would meet me in Hobbiton." She sighed out, frowning slightly. 

I smiled, finally someone with manners. "Well then you had better come in, I do believe he is somewhere in my living room trying to find all my Old Toby." I said lightly, holding the door open for her, she grinned widely and I saw a faint scar curving around her left eye. She ducked under the door and placed her pack on the floor and hung her cloak and coat up, the only person to come through my door without a visible weapon.  
   
She turned around and her eyes took in the mess that was my entry way and I fidgeted, wanting to tidy it. "I take it there are dwarves here with Gandalf? They never were very tidy." She mused and placed her hand against the wall, something pulsed and suddenly, my entry was tidy and I could hear the pipes working again, the groaning finally stopping. I stared at her and she smiled, her eyes shimmering gold.

I tilted my head to the side and saw that her ears were very similar in shape to mine, although the point was definitely more Elven and they held a startling array of earrings, ranging from three small studs in the lobe, two silver and an onyx, to an engraved ear cuff at the top of her left ear and the same three studs at the base to the three jewelled studs in the top of her right, one diamond, one ruby and one sapphire. 

Her eyes also held my gaze for a moment, the colours seemingly changing. Around the pupil seemed to be a ring of brown, bleeding into a brilliant emerald green which merged into a piercing blue that in turn faded through stormy blue-grey into a light steel grey ring around the edge of her iris. The gold swirled around, ebbing and sparking before settling to a faint sheen. I gasped and she turned to me, "A Fae." I whispered out and she grinned widely, holding a finger to her lips as if it was a secret.  
   
"Ariana at your service." She declared, bowing deeply and her hair although tied back, settled on the floor before flicking back over her shoulder. "Bilbo Baggins at yours." I told her faintly and she winked, like she knew how speechless I was at meeting a creature that we thought had been destroyed in the last great war. I gestured for her to proceed me and she moved, the thick braid of her hair swinging against her back and resting just above the waist of her breeches. Within the braid I could see flashes of silver, almost like certain sections of hair were individually braided. It was almost dwarven in style, but this was a Fae. 

When we entered the room, every dwarf fell silent and just stared. "Why in the name of Mahal do we need a woman?" The big one, Dwalin possibly, said. Ariana just tilted her head and walked towards him, staring into his eyes unblinkingly before snapping her teeth in front of his nose. His eyes widened and then he grinned, smacking his head forward in a headbutt. I half expected Ariana to break under it, but caught her moving into it, laughing. Thorin then rumbled out a sentence and I huffed, if they were going to be in my house, they could very well speak in Westron. 

Ariana seemed to find it offensive and snapped out in return. "Nadadugmil, gelek menu caragu rukhs." The language sounded the same, but Ariana's lacked the rumble of Thorin's. Everyone froze, no one outside of dwarf culture spoke Dwarvish. However she had clearly said something funny as the two that had arrived together, Fíli and Kíli began to laugh at the look on Thorin's face. "Orc shit, oh god why did we never think to tell someone they smelt like that?" The brunet choked out around his laughter. Ariana turned her attention to them then and walked over to them, poking the blonde on the nose, causing him to scowl and her to clap her hands and giggle. "It's Víli's face, but oh that is Dis' glare." She then repeated the gesture to the other and he just stared at her, before grinning and playfully trying to bite her finger. 

She smiled and flicked the tip of his nose, causing him to start. "And that is Víli on a Durin face. Oh I love it." She giggled, dipping into a bow again, "Ariana at your service, namadinùdôy." They stared at her for a second before launching into a series of overlapping questions, that she spectacularly managed to answer, many revolving around was she really their Aunt Ariana? They seemed rather ecstatic about it, almost like they had never met her before, but surely if she was their aunt they had? 

I looked over at Gandalf and found him watching the interactions with interest, as was Thorin. "Mim kaliâl, it is good to see you again." One of the dwarves spoke from behind her and she span around. "Nori!" She squealed before launching herself at him, wrapping him in a hug. He patted her back and let her go, slipping something into his pocket. She went to turn away before holding out her hand and waggling two of her fingers. Nori stared at her, but nodded giving her back the small pouch he had taken from her pocket. Dwalin glared over at him and he just smirked, wiggling his eyebrows, clearly trying to wind the bigger dwarf up.

She smiled and moved to greet Balin with a soft head bump and then turned back to Nori, holding out a rather large pouch of what sounded like coins and a dagger. Nori just stared at her in shock and she smirked. "What? You said if I practised I would get better than you." She told him winking. Everyone stood watching her, then Dori spoke, "You where teaching her how to pick pocket Nori? I wouldn't have let her go near you if I'd known!" He asked sounding angry and Nori shrugged, nodding his head. Ori chuckled and then darted forward and wrapped her in a hug, that she seemed to return tightly. "Mister Dori, it’s ok. Nori wasn't teaching me anything I didn't already know. It was very educational." She told him and Fíli and Kíli seemed to crack up at that.

She moved over to a few of the other dwarves. The deaf one got an especially long hug, one that caused him to be a little teary eyed after. His brother, maybe, got a headbump and then she turned to the remaining three dwarves. "I never got to thank you for finding me that night I ran away." She said to the one in the funny hat, who was just staring at her. "Princess? Nori ya bastard, why didn't ya tell me?" He yelled, before turning to Ariana and blushing. "Sorry, Bofur at yer service and my brother Bombur." He said flustered and Ariana just smiled at him and I could see the tension in him ease. 

She bowed back, "Forget it, my language is a whole lot worse." She said winking at him. The dwarf with the axe imbedded in his head turned to her and let loose a long stream of dwarvish. Ariana merely smiled and nodded her head before replying, causing everyone to pause again. "Ariana that is ancient Khuzdul, how in Mahal's name do you know that?" Balin asked and she turned to him, her smile now more of a smirk. "Just because I didn't speak for nearly two years, doesn't mean I couldn't read and grandfather used to help me with certain words." She said and I stared at her, she wasn't dwarvish yet she knew the language. 

Thorin cleared his throat, "What the fuck is wrong with your ears?" He asked gruffly and everyone turned to glare at him, including Ariana. "If the next words out of your mouth contain the word elf I will dye your hair pink and shave your eyebrows off. I am NOT an elf in any shape or form. This was merely a quirk of my bloodline that my birth father hadn't seen fit to have me informed of. Besides how many of the prissy backstabbing grass-munchers have this much metal in their ears?" She demanded and he nodded, tilting her head to the side and examining the studs and the ear cuff. "Did you make this? I assume so as it has our crest on it."

She nodded at the question and pushed back her sleeve on her left arm and showed Thorin her wrist, there was a small inking on it and he studied it, before sucking in a breath at the runes. "You inked that on your wrist?" She nodded and turned her wrist to her nephews who were hovering. "Dwarf at heart, Durin always." They turned to her and she smiled, obviously it was something between her and Thorin as she was tugged into a tight hug and they were murmuring to each other in Khuzdul. I moved into the kitchen wondering what I could offer her to eat, there was food down in my lower pantry but it was mostly grains, flour, potatoes and other things that wouldn't go off. 

I turned around to find her watching me, "Can I get you anything to eat, my pantry has been severely depleted, but I'm sure I can find something." I said and she stared at me before pointing at them and I nodded, she span around and cleared her throat. "Would anyone like to explain to me, why there is no food left in Master Baggins pantry?" She asked and no one moved. "I assume from the silence it's because you ate it all. Did you even ask him if you could have it or did you do the normal thing were you barge in and help yourself?" They all looked down sheepishly and she shook her head. 

She turned back around to me, "I apologise on behalf of my kin. I am so sorry that you had to experience such rudeness from them, I had thought that considering some of them are at an advanced age that they would have better manners. Unfortunately I can see that isn't the case. Thorin Oakenshield." She snapped out and we all jumped, eyes darting to Thorin. "Yes, namanith?" He asked and she turned to face him, hands on her hips. "Why did you not teach our nephews the proper etiquette for entering someone's house? I am pretty sure that nowhere within those lessons is 'wipe your muddy boots on the furniture.' Also you would do well to stop glaring at Master Baggins, I don't even have to look at you to know you are doing it." She scolded him and the boys, causing them to look at the floor. 

She then turned to the others, "And don't think I haven't noticed that you all seem to have forgotten your manners as well, simply helping yourself to someone else's food, flinging around their pottery and then destroying their plumbing. Aren't you lucky I can fix anything you have broken? I wouldn't be this upset if this was Elves, but we are among the gentle folk, you would do well to act less like a heard of Oliphants in a china shop." She snapped out and they all seemed properly cowed, Gandalf chuckled slightly and then froze as her gaze landed on him.

She tilted her head and I saw Thorin and Dwalin flinch. "Tell me Gandalf, you were the one to orchestrate this. Did you tell Master Baggins he would be having company? Or did you just assume that he would be too polite to tell you all to bugger off? Also must you be so damn bloody cryptic?" She asked and he looked at her and if I hadn't known better I would have said he was blushing. She turned back to me and smiled, "I think that will do don't you? And no thank you I'm not hungry. A cup of tea wouldn't go amiss though." She said and I smiled back, tea I could do. 

I brought it back in and Ariana smiled at me, taking it off me, added four sugars and began sipping it. I stared at her and she shrugged, "The more magic I use, the more energy I need. I need to keep my magic levels high if we are going to make it on this quest." She said and I nodded, moved away and went to sit in my bedroom, needing some space from all the dwarves in my living room. Ariana seemed to make them aware that not every race was the same as theirs and if she was coming on this adventure then maybe there was at least some chance that it wouldn't be as terribly dangerous as being incinerated. I listened as they sang and could faintly pick up the higher tones of Ariana's voice, I was still thinking it over when I fell asleep. 

I awoke the next morning to an empty house and the words of the haunting song echoing in my hallways. I sighed and quickly went about packing up a pack, tying on the old, but new bedroll and grasping my walking stick and the contract. I quickly nailed a sign to my gate and darted off through the shire, with the contracts streaming behind me, yelling at old Gaffer Gamgee that I was off on an adventure. I caught up with the dwarves fairly quickly, despite them being on ponies, I knew the shire far better than they did. I handed over the contract to Thorin and took an immense amount of pride in the shocked look on his face, "I simply needed to sleep on the decision." I told him.

He gestured for me to get on the remaining pony and I stared at it, never having ridden one before. Ariana's voice came from behind me, "You're on her right side, right foot in the rest and jump essentially." She told me, jumping down next to me from the top of a huge black horse. She gestured for me to step up into her palm and I followed her instructions, climbing clumsily up into the saddle, watching in envy as she gracefully leaped back into the saddle, looking a lot like an elf. I patted my pockets searching for a handkerchief as I felt a sneeze building and began to panic about not having one. 

Ariana merely rode up next to and held out one of my monogrammed handkerchiefs, "I saw that you wouldn't remember. Thought I would save you the teasing that would come if you shouted out you needed one." She said softly, winking over at me. Ariana tried to keep near me during the day, but would often drift amongst the other dwarves, especially the younger ones, she appeared to be telling them stories, judging by the glares Dwalin and Thorin were sending back to her. 

One of the time she was near me I worked up the courage to ask, "Why is your horse so big?", waving a hand to motion to all the ponies, Gandalf being the only other person to ride a horse and she was barely taller than the tallest of the dwarves probably around 5 foot and a few inches. She chuckled as her horse snorted and seemed to glare at me. "Thalion isn't a horse, not really. He is however my familiar, I guess you could say. If I need him to be a horse, he's a horse. Normally he is a raven." She told me and I raised an eyebrow at the Elvish name. She nodded, "There was a time when we were on fairly civilised terms with the Elves, that has obviously changed." She didn't elaborate on that, but I was sure as the quest wore on I would here about it in time, I was still confused how a horse was not a horse, but a raven.

That night we camped out on the edge of a high cliff, Thorin standing looking out over the edge and I found myself wedged beside Fíli and Kíli, jumping when something howled in the distance. Kíli made a teasing comment that was apparently in bad taste as Thorin turned around and scolded him, causing him to drop his head and although I was sure he didn't want it seen, tears appeared in his eyes. Ariana came and sat down next to him, squeezed his wrist and then began to gently pick twigs out of his hair and when she was done began to absently braid his hair and what seemed to shock Fíli was that his brother sat still and let her. 

I turned to listen to Balin, who told us the story of the battle at the Gates of Moria, how Thorin had gone from being third in line to the throne, to heir. I watched as Ariana flinched at the mentions of the king dying and Thorin's father going missing. Then I realised that it was her father and grandfather too. Kíli had curled up against Ariana's side and she was resting her chin against his head. Fíli had shifted and moved around to her other side and was just stroking his fingers over the inking on the inside of her wrist. Ariana however was looking over at Thorin as Balin said, "And then I saw him and thought 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could call king.'" And I realised that Thorin did cut a majestic figure against the moonlight and Ariana was studying him closely. 

I lit my pipe and was puffing away on it, lost in thought when movement from my right made me jump. I turned to see Fíli and Kíli asleep, leaning against Ariana, Kíli's head resting on her shoulder and Fíli's on her lap, both of them snoring softly. I shook my head and she smiled over at me, rolling her eyes as if to say, 'What can you do?' and I realised this was a person who was used to looking after young ones. I turned and found Thorin studying the scene with a fond look on his face, before he caught me looking and stormed away in a huff, for some reason he really didn't like me. 

Ariana laughed softly and spoke just as quietly. "Don't think too badly of my brother. He is annoyed that I manipulated him into letting me come on this quest. He is worried that he will lose me again so soon after gaining me back. I also think he is slightly annoyed that Gandalf knew I was back in Middle Earth and didn't tell him." I looked at her confused, surely she had been here all her life. 

She smiled sadly over at me, "I was six years old when Thrór and Thrain found me broken, bloody and half dead at the bottom of the gates of Erebor. They nursed me back to health and adopted me into their family, having assumed that I was simply a child of some men who had been abandoned near the mountain. This was not the case, but that is a story for another time." She said sadly and stroked her fingers along Fíli's temple.

She looked back up at me, "I lived with them for over four years. It was in Ered Luin that everything really changed. Thorin, father and grandfather went to fight at Moria and I was left with my older sister and brother. Frerin was upset to begin with that he wasn't going to fight, but accepted that it was because I needed to be protected as I had been injured before Smaug took the mountain. Dis, this pairs mother, was newly married. I met the Ri brothers quite by accident. It was a tough time for us, the months while Thorin was away. We all missed him and worried about those that had gone. Thorin had only been back a day when they lost me." 

I frowned at her choice of words and she pulled a face. "We had just found out that Dis was pregnant and grandfather had left us each letters. I had been upstairs reading mine and as I walked downstairs, I had felt this horrible pulling sensation in my stomach, almost like someone was trying to rip my guts out. I had screamed and everything that was familiar disappeared and I ended up in another world. The one I had originally been born in." She said and I blinked, trying to wrap my head around what she had told me. "It nearly broke our family, losing Ariana. I have never seen anything hit my cousin's so hard, even the death of their parents and grandfather." Balin murmured from his seat. 

Ariana flicked her gaze over to him, "It nearly broke me. I ended up somewhere I really didn't want to be after that with some not very nice men. All I could think on was the hope of one day getting back here." I stared at her and the haunted look in her eyes made me want to give her a hug. "I hope they regretted what they did to you." Kíli muttered sleepily from his position on Ariana's shoulder and suddenly the sad look in her eyes transformed into a glint of insanity. "Oh they did Irakdashat, they did. Until the day they died, alone, caged and in excruciating pain." She said it so matter of fact that I shuddered, this was not a woman I wanted to cross.

The next morning dawned far too early and then to make matters worse as we were riding it began to rain, "Can't you do something about this deluge master Gandalf?" Dori asked from nearer the front and Ariana laughed, her horse prancing through the rain. She hadn't even had the sense to put up her hood on her cloak. "Namanith, put your hood up." Thorin grouched over at her and she smirked, shaking her head and flicking even more water at him. "Shan't. I want to feel the rain." She told him cheekily, sticking out her tongue. I heard Fíli inhale next to me, "The last time I did that to Uncle he said he would cut it out as I wasn't a child and such behaviour was unbecoming of a prince." He muttered and I stared at him. "Ariana Durin, what in the name of Mahal is that?" Thorin exclaimed and we all paused to look at the pair of them. 

Ariana grinned wickedly, "What's what dear brother?" Her sweet innocent voice did not match up to the grin. Thorin stared at her, "What. Is. That. On. Your. Tongue? " He asked, biting out every word and all she did was smile, "I thought you were fairly aware of what piercings were, nadad." She said sweetly, that wicked grin still on her face. I hadn't thought that Thorin's scowl could get any worse, it did. "I am, I want to know why you have one in your tongue." He snarled out and every dwarf moved away from the siblings and back towards me. "This could be interesting. I think Thorin could handle the ear piercings as they show she isn't an elf and are quite common among dwarf women, but any other piercing is a no. Not on his little sister." Dwalin muttered and chuckled as Thorin face turned red at Ariana's answer. "Because I paid someone to put it there." 

 

A/N: Translations

Nadadugmil - Older brother

Gelek menu caragu rukhs - you smell like orc shit (bullshit)

Namadinùdôy - sister son's

Irakdashat - Nephew

**Author's Note:**

> Any thoughts an opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
